Comey Unmasked

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
After he was fired, in an act of venomous revenge -- not atypical of the Swamp – Comey had a friend, a Columbia Law School professor, leak his version of a conversation with the president. In this version, Trump was trying to hide the collusion by cutting off an investigation.

Why did he not simply release the memo to the press in a less cowardly fashion? Because he clearly hoped it would not be traced to him, and the motive thus made clear. Moreover, he confessed that he wanted to force the appointment of a special counsel. This follows to a striking degree the path in the Plame case -- where the attorney general, John Ashcroft, recused himself, and Comey was made acting attorney general, whereupon he appointed his friend Patrick Fitzgerald. I trust that many readers already are familiar with the manner in which Fitzpatrick’s investigation into a leak by Cheney-hater Richard Armitage, which tied up the administration and resulted in a confected process crime against a Cheney aide, Lewis Libby. In case you want to refresh your recollection of those events, here is the article I wrote about it eleven years ago.

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Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton argues that the Comey leak to the New York Times through his cut out invalidates the Special Counsel appointment,

Newt Gingrich argues much the same:

Comey Invalidates Special Counsel

The most startling revelation from fired FBI Director James Comey’s testimony this week was his barefaced admission that he intentionally leaked details of his private conversations with the President to the press in an effort to prompt the appointment a special counsel.

When asked Thursday by Senator Susan Collins of Maine whether he shared the memos he wrote about his conversations with President Trump with anyone outside the Department of Justice, Comey answered:

“I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter – didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons – but I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.”



Comey Unmasked
 
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Hijinx

Well-Known Member
After he was fired, in an act of venomous revenge -- not atypical of the Swamp – Comey had a friend, a Columbia Law School professor, leak his version of a conversation with the president. In this version, Trump was trying to hide the collusion by cutting off an investigation.

Why did he not simply release the memo to the press in a less cowardly fashion? Because he clearly hoped it would not be traced to him, and the motive thus made clear. Moreover, he confessed that he wanted to force the appointment of a special counsel. This follows to a striking degree the path in the Plame case -- where the attorney general, John Ashcroft, recused himself, and Comey was made acting attorney general, whereupon he appointed his friend Patrick Fitzgerald. I trust that many readers already are familiar with the manner in which Fitzpatrick’s investigation into a leak by Cheney-hater Richard Armitage, which tied up the administration and resulted in a confected process crime against a Cheney aide, Lewis Libby. In case you want to refresh your recollection of those events, here is the article I wrote about it eleven years ago.

[clip]

Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton argues that the Comey leak to the New York Times through his cut out invalidates the Special Counsel appointment,

Newt Gingrich argues much the same:

Comey Invalidates Special Counsel

The most startling revelation from fired FBI Director James Comey’s testimony this week was his barefaced admission that he intentionally leaked details of his private conversations with the President to the press in an effort to prompt the appointment a special counsel.

When asked Thursday by Senator Susan Collins of Maine whether he shared the memos he wrote about his conversations with President Trump with anyone outside the Department of Justice, Comey answered:

“I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter – didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons – but I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.”



Comey Unmasked

It seems every day a new disclosure of Comey's sneaky dealings comes to light.
 

awpitt

Main Streeter
Comey didn't "leak" anything. They were his memos. He wrote them. His content. He could do whatever he wanted to do with them.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
Comey didn't "leak" anything. They were his memos. He wrote them. His content. He could do whatever he wanted to do with them.

Here we go... education time.

It was an official document he wrote in the capacity of doing his job. All documents and effects that occur in specific relation to a government worker's job becomes the property of the government. This was no personal "we played golf and Trump won" memo. This was specifically written to document an official meeting between Comey and Trump.

He is not authorized to LEAK this information outside of the any government agency without getting permission. THIS MEMO DID NOT BELONG TO COMEY.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
You know what I found interesting about Comey's testimony on this memo stuff... He claimed he started documenting his meetings with Trump because he was worried about lies. He didn't Trust Trump. Comey admitted that Loretta Lynch FORCED him to change the wording of the Clinton investigation from calling it an investigation to calling it a "matter". Comey even questioned this; and yielded to Lynch's demands. This should have given Comey every reason in the world to not trust Lynch because she told him to tell a lie, making her a liar. Yet, Trump requested Comey consider dropping the Flynn case, and Comey was worried about Trump lying.

Then Comey does the ultimate lie and leaks this memo - ILLEGALLY! Yet he was worried that Trump would lie, feeling the need to document their meetings. Comey has to be one of the most deceptive people I've ever seen. He truly rivals Obama.
 

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
Comey didn't "leak" anything. They were his memos. He wrote them. His content. He could do whatever he wanted to do with them.

They weren't "his". They were made on an FBI computer (in the transcript - look it up) therefore, those so-called notes (IF, he in fact, did make notes) belong to the government - actually- the US Taxpayers.
 

Hijinx

Well-Known Member
Comey didn't "leak" anything. They were his memos. He wrote them. His content. He could do whatever he wanted to do with them.

What is it with these Trump haters that they cannot see what is plain to other people.

Comey had the Memo's but he didn't show them to the media, he got a fiend ( I mean friend)to do it, because he wanted another friend to be appointed Special Counsel.
That is the definition of a leak. To try to screw someone without getting caught doing it.
And then to admit it is the height of stupidity.
 

Hijinx

Well-Known Member
They weren't "his". They were made on an FBI computer (in the transcript - look it up) therefore, those so-called notes (IF, he in fact, did make notes) belong to the government - actually- the US Taxpayers.

It doesn't really matter how he did it. It proves he is a biased and corrupt SOB with no business leading the FBI.
 

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
It doesn't really matter how he did it. It proves he is a biased and corrupt SOB with no business leading the FBI.

Of course. To us.

I doubt there are any memos. Word on the interwebz streets is he deleted them. Oh, right. Sure.

I'll bet he never made notes. He's lying.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
Of course. To us.

I doubt there are any memos. Word on the interwebz streets is he deleted them. Oh, right. Sure.

I'll bet he never made notes. He's lying.

Not sure how Comey uses that as a defense. He testified under oath that he wrote the memo, then gave it to someone with the intent of leaking it to the press. Deleting it only makes things worse for him. That's tampering with evidence, and destroying official government documents without permission.
 

awpitt

Main Streeter
Here we go... education time.

It was an official document he wrote in the capacity of doing his job. All documents and effects that occur in specific relation to a government worker's job becomes the property of the government. This was no personal "we played golf and Trump won" memo. This was specifically written to document an official meeting between Comey and Trump.

He is not authorized to LEAK this information outside of the any government agency without getting permission. THIS MEMO DID NOT BELONG TO COMEY.

Yes, education time.......

In a statement later, Kasowitz called Comey's decision to share the memo with someone outside the Department of Justice "an unauthorized disclosure of privileged information." "We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated," Kasowitz said.

But legal experts broadly agree that Comey's disclosure of the memo did not constitute a "leak" because it did not contain classified information, and he was a private citizen when he shared it.
"Executive privilege almost certainly does not cover the Comey memo," Steve Vladeck, a professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law specializing in national security, wrote on Friday. "And even if it did, disclosing it without authorization isn’t illegal."

Vladeck said executive privilege is meant to be used as a defense, not a weapon, and to protect government officials from being forced to share internal White House communications with outside entities. But officials who want to share those communications can't be stopped by an invocation of executive privilege alone.

http://www.businessinsider.com/were-comey-leaks-legal-memos-2017-6
 
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GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
Comey didn't "leak" anything. They were his memos. He wrote them. His content. He could do whatever he wanted to do with them.

they why the subterfuge with the 'friend'


However, the clearest violation came in the days following his termination. Comey admits that he gave the damaging memos to a friend at Columbia Law School with the full knowledge that the information would be given to the media. It was a particularly curious moment for a former director who was asked by the president to fight the leakers in the government. He proceeded in becoming one of the most consequential leakers against Trump.

Comey said that he took these actions days after his termination, when he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and realized suddenly that the memos could be used to contradict Trump. It was a bizarrely casual treatment of material that would be viewed by many as clearly FBI information. He did not confer with the FBI or the Justice Department. He did not ask for any classification review despite one of the parties described being the president of the United States. He simply sent the memos to a law professor to serve as a conduit to the media.

As a threshold matter, Comey asked a question with regard to Trump that he should now answer with regard to his own conduct. Comey asked why Trump would ask everyone to leave the Oval Office to speak with Comey unless he was doing something improper. Yet, Trump could ask why Comey would use a third party to leak these memos if they were his property and there was nothing improper in their public release.

In fact, there was a great deal wrong with their release, and Comey likely knew it. These were documents prepared on an FBI computer addressing a highly sensitive investigation on facts that he considered material to that investigation. Indeed, he conveyed that information confidentially to his top aides and later said that he wanted the information to be given to the special counsel because it was important to the investigation.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-bl...opinion-the-damaging-case-against-james-comey


Gov. Property .... NOT comeys to Publish or give to someone else to hand off to a 3rd party to publish


http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448529/comey-memos-leaking-improper

1. What Is a ‘Leak’?

Strangely, there seems to be some dispute about what a “leak” is. In the context of government information, it is when a public official who has access to non-public information discloses the information to a person not authorized to have it — frequently, a member of the press. The official has gotten access to the information because he either is authorized to handle it or has obtained unauthorized access to it by gaining access — legitimately or otherwise — to the place where it is stored. Information is deemed “non-public” if the government has never officially disclosed it. That is, even though a prior leak may have publicized a piece of information, the government still considers that information non-public if it has not been publicly confirmed by an official authorized to do so.

To be clear, the leak is the transmission of the information from the public official to the person not authorized to have it. The publication of leaked information by the press is not a leak — it is the result of a leak. Press publication is generally thought to be protected by the First Amendment. (There is some scholarly dispute about whether the media could be liable for receiving and publishing certain kinds of information, such as national-defense information.)
 
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Midnightrider

Well-Known Member
Here we go... education time.

It was an official document he wrote in the capacity of doing his job. All documents and effects that occur in specific relation to a government worker's job becomes the property of the government. This was no personal "we played golf and Trump won" memo. This was specifically written to document an official meeting between Comey and Trump.

He is not authorized to LEAK this information outside of the any government agency without getting permission. THIS MEMO DID NOT BELONG TO COMEY.
As i said from the beginning, i think these memos are government property and should have stayed at the FBI. I memories of conversation comey and trump had are a different story, but the memos were not his. In other words, I think he can share the conversations, but not the memos.

However, this is a tricky situation for trumpers. If you claim that Comey leaked government documents you elevate them to probative automatically. You are essentially validating them by saying that they belong to the government. If they are just comey's personal memos it much easier to explain them away as the product of a vindictive employee.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
Yes, education time.......

But legal experts broadly agree that Comey's disclosure of the memo did not constitute a "leak" because it did not contain classified information, and he was a private citizen when he shared it.
"Executive privilege almost certainly does not cover the Comey memo," Steve Vladeck, a professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law specializing in national security, wrote on Friday. "And even if it did, disclosing it without authorization isn’t illegal."

http://www.businessinsider.com/were-comey-leaks-legal-memos-2017-6

I'd say those unnamed "legal experts" don't know what they're talking about. It does not have to be classified in order to constitute a leak. The information (the memo) is government property and cannot be publically divulged without proper authorization. Comey cannot, on his own, make that decision. It doesn’t matter if he was a private citizen when he leaked it. It was still government property.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
And here's another interesting thing about this leaked memo.

Comey testified that he decided to leak the memo after Trump tweeted their coversation might have been recorded. Trump's tweet was on May 12th. Contents of the memo were published in the NYT on May 11th. Comey may have perjured himself.
 

awpitt

Main Streeter
I'd say those unnamed "legal experts" don't know what they're talking about. It does not have to be classified in order to constitute a leak. The information (the memo) is government property and cannot be publically divulged without proper authorization. Comey cannot, on his own, make that decision. It doesn’t matter if he was a private citizen when he leaked it. It was still government property.

Than why hasn't he been charged? The contents of the memos were released a month ago. Plenty of time to bring up charges. So, why? no charges? Because what he did wasn't illegal. Otherwise, there would been charges by now.
 

Midnightrider

Well-Known Member
And here's another interesting thing about this leaked memo.

Comey testified that he decided to leak the memo after Trump tweeted their coversation might have been recorded. Trump's tweet was on May 12th. Contents of the memo were published in the NYT on May 11th. Comey may have perjured himself.

if you read the story from the 11th there is no mention of the memo. The NYT says they had 2 sources that described the conversations. I think it is plausible that comey told people his story, OR that people still at FBI had access to copies of the memos
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
Than why hasn't he been charged? The contents of the memos were released a month ago. Plenty of time to bring up charges. So, why? no charges? Because what he did wasn't illegal. Otherwise, there would been charges by now.

Good question. We only learned that Comey leaked the memo during his testimony. The wheels of government move slowly. A lot of people talked about whether it was legal or not over the weekend. I can only tell you from where I sit, I cannot draft a document on a government machine and claim it's mine to do with what I want. Even the most innocuous information is still government property. Now, I could delete it after creating it, and no one will likely ever know the difference. However, if decided to do a search on my computer and find documents that were deleted, they're going to want to know who authorized me to delete them. If i can't justify their deletion, I could be charged with a crime for tampering with evidence and mishandling government information.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
if you read the story from the 11th there is no mention of the memo. The NYT says they had 2 sources that described the conversations. I think it is plausible that comey told people his story, OR that people still at FBI had access to copies of the memos

Are you even putting the dots together?

Comey drafts a memo. He admits he wrote this memo, and he admits leaking it to his friend with the intent of leaking it to the media. Low and behold the information that is in this memo shows in the NYT. You just admitted it showed up in the NYT a day before Trump's tweet, discrediting Comey's claim that he leaked it after Trump's tweet. And Comey even testified that he gave a copy of the memo to his friend.
 

awpitt

Main Streeter
And here's another interesting thing about this leaked memo.

Comey testified that he decided to leak the memo after Trump tweeted their coversation might have been recorded. Trump's tweet was on May 12th. Contents of the memo were published in the NYT on May 11th. Comey may have perjured himself.

Actually, Trump tweeted about the tapes on May 12th. The memos were revealed by the NYT on May 16th.
 
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