Mueller and Comey Failed Their Tests. She Passed Hers.

[DURHAM D]

Marie Yovanovitch chose her country over what others might think of her.

Mueller, to be fair, has a stronger defense than Comey. Throughout, Mueller interpreted Justice Department guidelines in narrow ways: Those guidelines didn’t compel him to present clear conclusions — as Kenneth Starr had two decades earlier — and so Mueller didn’t do so. It’s possible that Mueller’s mistakes had more to do with naïveté than pride.

Yet the outcome was the same. Both Mueller and Comey preserved their nonpartisan images (only temporarily in Comey’s case, because he later engaged in a full-on fight with Trump), while the country suffered.

Comey’s unprecedented insertion of the F.B.I. into the final stages of a presidential campaign may have decided the outcome. And Mueller’s convoluted report was a gift to Trump. Mueller’s long investigation uncovered extensive evidence of a president who had broken the law and abused his power, but Mueller did almost nothing to hold the president accountable.

Mueller and Comey are decent men who have served their country honorably for decades. Yet when confronted with this test, even they failed it. Which should make us all the more grateful for Yovanovitch, Vindman, Taylor, Kent and the whistle-blower.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/17/opinion/marie-yovanovitch-impeachment.html

[intrepidity]

1. Paywall? nt

[DURHAM D]

2. Can't do anything about that. nt

[sheshe2]

4. If is wasn't for Mueller

We would not have had a Yovanovitch, Vindman, Taylor, Kent and the whistle-blower. Nor would we have had Stone guilty on seven counts. That is the LAST thing Mueller did before his investigations were cut off.

I am tired of Mueller being trashed.

[Hekate]

5. Thanks, She

[sheshe2]

6. You are welcome, Hekate.

I am sick and tired of Mueller being trashed.

I believe him to be a good man and non partisan in his investigations. He did all he could do until Barr cut off his investigations.

[diva77]

7. Considering Moscow Mitch knew absolutely he could hold up the Supreme Court seat, the election

result was predetermined. The goods were in place to steal the vote - gerrymandering, disinformation, voter suppression, nonverifiable voting machines & tabulators, purging of likely Dem voters from the rolls, etc. etc.

[ritapria]

8. Mueller's Testimony was an EPIC FAIL

[phleshdef]

14. Boy, you use ALL CAPS, so it makes it SO MUCH MORE TRUE.

Ugh.

[Pepsidog]

9. Great post. So true.

[StevieM]

10. It is so absurd to say that Comey "may" have decided the outcome of the election.

He absolutely decided the outcome.

Comey dominated that election from start to finish.

His actions were horrifying. And they were inconsistent with liberal democracy.

[Sewa]

16. I will always blame Comey for the Trump

presidency. Everything that has happened under the Trump presidency is on Comey for his interference in the election cycle. The Russian interference alone wouldn’t have got Trump elected imo.

[C Moon]

11. I knew the whole "It's Mueller Time" thing would be a fail. He's GOP at heart...

and he has no interest in helping the Democratic Party—as they all see it.
He did his part to keep the law, but he didn't want to stick his neck out any further.

Christ. Mueller knows more than anyone how close we were to a coup, but still he put the GOP ahead of the truth.

Fuck 'em all. The GOP cannot be trust to protect our constitution.

[okieinpain]

12. Or maybe mueller did exactly what needed to

Be done at the time. Comey ehh!

[UCmeNdc]

13. Mueller let the country down. He failed to stand up and be counted.

Mueller hid and was afraid to act.

[phleshdef]

15. Such absolute horse shit. Mueller did what he could do within DOJ, he was constrained and shut down.

[Sewa]

17. Then why won't Mueller state that he was constrained.

Why won’t he say Barr shut down his investigation. Why did he allow some witnesses to lie, like the presidential pant presser.

[phleshdef]

18. I get it. You want to know why you didn't get a pony.

Its because the real world doesn't work that way.

Mueller gave Congress everything they needed to show obstruction of justice and moved on. He doesn't like the spotlight. He does like investigating scumbags. He balanced those 2 things the best he could. The DOJ wouldn't allow him to touch Trump and that is that.

[Sewa]

19. Pretty lame dodge

You can hang on to your delusion that the Mueller Report was perfect. If it was so great as you think impeachment would’ve started in May.

[phleshdef]

20. I never said it was perfect. It was bullshit but thats all on Barr, not Mueller.

Its a fucking sad day when I have to give props to Jeff Sessions for ANYTHING, but he rightfully recused himself and let it go way farther than Trump ever would've allowed otherwise. When he finally stepped out an Barr stepped in, any of us on the "thinking" side of the US population knew it was over and there wasn't anything that could be done about it. I don't think there is any difference between the way I see this and the way Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi sees it.

[dansolo]

21. Why was he so belligerant to Congress

His whole deal was that he couldn't indict Trump, so he forwarded everything to Congress. But then he was unwilling to be cooperative with Congress, and refused to even explain his report. That is what really soured me on the job he did. That, and the fact that he never interviewed Don Jr or Jared Kushner. Both of them were in deep in the Russian interference, and had no claims of Presidential immunity from prosecution.