Worse Than Watergate? Concerns Grow That Anti-Clinton FBI Faction Conspired to Hand Trump Election

[workinclasszero]

Worse Than Watergate? Concerns Grow That Anti-Clinton FBI Faction Conspired to Hand Trump Election
12/14/2016 01:45 am ET | Updated 5 hours ago
Seth Abramson Attorney; Assistant Professor at University of New Hampshire; Poet; Editor, Best American Experimental Writing; Editor, Metamodern Studies

An Outline of What Increasingly Exhibits the Hallmarks of an Election Conspiracy

Unlike the effect of Russian interference on the 2016 presidential campaign, the effect—in votes—of the now-infamous “Comey Letter” is knowable.

While various media outlets downplayed the effect at the time, the hard data is unmistakable: according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll taken immediately after FBI Director Comey’s end-of-October announcement that the FBI would be reviewing additional evidence in the Clinton email-server case, one-third of likely voters reported that the revelation made them “much less likely” to vote for Clinton.

In an election Clinton lost by just 77,143 combined votes in three states—out of well over 136 million votes cast—this sort of polling data is one indication that Comey’s announcement could have cost Clinton millions of votes nationwide. But looking inside the Politico/Morning Consult data, we find much more evidence for that conclusion: specifically, the fact that while 26% of the poll’s 33% figure comes from Trump voters, the remaining 7% comes from those reporting to be Clinton voters.

So it’s clear the Comey Letter was more than enough—as a matter of math—to put Trump in the White House.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bigger-than-watergate-concerns-grow-that-anti-clinton_us_5850bb12e4b0b662c2fddebc

[RKP5637]

1. Bottom line, it was a coup! The timing was not by chance in the least. It was strategically planned

IMO so as to ensure a Trump win. Most Americans are not used to this kind of sh**.

[workinclasszero]

2. Agree 100%

It was a coup

[lagomorph777]

3. Comey is a Russian mole.

He should be immediately fired and placed on trial for treason.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. +1000

[Cha]

6. ..

[edhopper]

9. Doesn't the question

answer itself?

[lagomorph777]

10. Great stuff - link please!

[Cha]

13. Sorry, I was being lazy... it's very late here..

FBI's Comey opposed naming Russians, citing election timing: Source

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/31/fbis-comey-opposed-naming-russians-citing-election-timing-source.html

And it was put out in a tweet by Hillary..

Hillary Clinton
✔ ?@hillaryclinton
Incredible. http://cnb.cx/2f68jHK
10:02 AM - 31 Oct 2016
6,415 6,415 Retweets 9,401 9,401 likes

[lagomorph777]

14. awesome thanks!

[ThoughtCriminal]

63. I hope someday, he will have to explain under oath

He now has to hope that he is NEVER called to testify about anything, anyplace where he might be asked that. Even if he takes the 5th, it will answer the question.

One reason a GOP Senate and House majority is always going to be the most important things to him for the rest of his life.

[DFW]

69. I hope someday he is waterboarded until he confesses

Republicans apparently still think it's a good way to get information. It needs to be tested on Comey. The nation deserves to know WHO gave/promised him WHAT.

If there's one thing I'll never believe, it was that his action was a freebie that he thought up on his own.

[workinclasszero]

11. Yes!

[Loki]

66. I think we should start calling him the new Robert Hanssen.

He has done as much damage to the United States as that Russian spy, and should deserve the same fate.

[uponit7771]

72. NOT ONLY THAT but the FBI is the CURRENT dissenting voice on who Putin helped during the election

... fuck the FBI... they have no minerals there... no one is speaking up

[Botany]

8. +1

The Coup was both external (russia) and internal (trump, Comey/FBI, cross check, the media,
and parts of the GOP/McConnell) and they worked together too.

This also affected House and Senate races too.

[RKP5637]

16. I wonder, will anything happen? Will Trump and his gangster gang just slither into the WH unscathed?

[Botany]

18. Trump really is a gangster .... his connections to the mob are well known

@ one time being linked to the mob, w/6 banruptcies, and running a fake univewrsity
that targeted widows of the Iraq war, and publicly talking about sexually assualting
women and you wouldn't even get a sniff of the White House.

Thanks media ..... but what about HRC's emails.

[RKP5637]

34. Many Americans are stupid, probably genetically stupid by now. There is really no way in getting

around it. And, jerks like the media will cash in on it for profit. Many don't give a F about the country, all they want is money. And these damn fools that voted for Trump, they actually think he gives a F about them. Ha, THEY are the losers he talks about, he used them for their vote, and they're too stupid to even figure that out.

[Botany]

37. Many of those "losers" have been fed hate by russian sponsored fake news or American ...

.... made right wing hate talk/cyber/media. I have a local bar that is filled with them.
Most of them are dumber then a box of rocks but they will say with glee that, "we stopped
that c**t/bitch Hillary." And they will tell me or show me on their cell phones false stories
such as Hillary and Obama stopped a rescue mission for Benghazi or that Hillary and Bill
take 25% off the top of donations to the Clinton Foundation.

[RKP5637]

38. I had an eminent psychiatrist friend way back who said the downfall of the US would one

day be stupidity. That the uneducated would rise up and topple the US because of RW talking points. That was long ago, and damn, he was absolutely correct.

[Botany]

39. It is no small thing the right wing/dumb ass/fundy christian stuff has flooded basic cable along ...

... with Fox News being on everyplace, and a media that talked about HRC's emails
but not about Trump having a fake University that took adventage of widows from
the Iraq war after being sold, "Wouldn't a nice home based real estate business help
you? You can make $$$$ and stay home w/your kids too."

I have an x-friend (I had to cut it off when after the election he was gloating
over Trump's win and my pain) who is a Dr. who really thinks that the Obama
ran up the debt and increased racial tensions are the President's fault too. No
doubt he gets his news from Fox, Brietbart, and other peddlers of lies for the
tight.

[RKP5637]

40. You know, and I hate to say this, sometimes I think it would be best if the US

were regionalized. This divide will never be healed. I don't know how that would happen, but so much of this country has been so poisoned, it's doubtful it will ever be healed. So many seem to want to live in an authoritarian dystopian society run by a gangster dictator. And I don't think it stops with Trump. I think the political typology is forever changed as now demonstrated by this election.

[Botany]

42. I think that after the civil war if we had lined up the leaders of the south against a wall .....

.... and shot them for being traitors and then used the force of the U.S. government
to stomp out the Klan we would be a better country now.

BTW if weren't for voter purges and election rigging many of our "solid red" states
would be blue or border line blue. Georgia is 40% black and about 9% Hispanic
but you wouldn't know that from their political "choices". Before the election HRC was
in a dead heat w/Trump in Georgia but she lost by 20 points?

So many of those dumb ass gun loving bible thumping idiots have been fed "hate for
liberals and Hillary" by the alt right, Russin fake news sites, the right wing media and
a Jesus who is worried about transpeople using a bathroom that they really don't know
reality. And to them Trump and his call to racism (the birther thing was very racist ....
hey boy show me your papers) scratched an itch that they have had for generations.
And my thought that the really rich like the Koch brothers make sure that "those people"
stay pissed off at educated/liberal/gay/non fundy christian people 24/7.

[RKP5637]

44. It is so F'ed up words pale to describe it, and they are so damn proud of their hatefulness

and stupidity, because their hate radio and their jesus and their god told them they are the blessed people of the universe. FFS, some 3rd world countries make more sense than these damn ignorant brainwashed fools. There are parts of the US I don't even want to flyover.

[Botany]

46. I live in that flyover country

Did you know that President Obama was going to us the UN to bring in Hamas
fighters in order to take over America so he could have a third term?

Somebody told me that I shit you not.

[RKP5637]

47. Maybe he can just refuse to vacate the WH! I used to live in several states in

flyover areas. It's a shame. There are beautiful states and wonderful people, but the damn hate radio has warped so many peoples minds. I know we have free speech, but really, some of this sh** needs to be banned. One example is Alex Jones. I can not see any useful purpose that his show serves other than to spread lies, misinformation and hatred for his personal profit.

[Mr. Evil]

52. Fear and smear is quite profitable. n/t

[tomp]

73. the same losers who were convinced to hate the russians....

....in an earlier era. just a different source of propaganda. in both cases, propaganda designed to benefit the rich.

[Dustlawyer]

36. The thing no one is talking about his that this election tampering is happing in

every election now. Crosscheck is not new, the attack on voting rights is every election, something needs to be done and the Democratic Party has not been at the forefront.

We need an all hands on deck to fight this crap. If it comes to us raising money to hire a PI firm we should do it. Greg Palast has been warning us about this to no avail!

[ffr]

30. And had it failed, Comey was all too happy to fall on the sword in love of party.

Unfortunately, enough people bought the conspiratorial lie he made to sway the direction of the country. Now we all get to suffer the consequences.

[Mr. Evil]

48. The thing that amazes me is that the US spends

upward of $700,000,000,000 per year on defense and security spending allegedly to protect this nation and our allies. Putin usurped all of that with a few hackers, an information whorehouse (Wikileaks), an obvious traitor (James Comey) and a devoted fanboy (Trump).

But, the most amazing and disconcerting thing of all is that nothing will be done about it. It's already fading from the news cycle and Trump will most likely (barring a miracle) be inaugurated Jan. 20, 2017.

[RKP5637]

51. Much as with 9/11, others know how to work over the US with minimal effort. n/t

[malaise]

53. Said ths ages ago

I suspect others in other agencies as well

[RKP5637]

57. Yep! Others see it too in gov., but they remain silent. It's so blatantly obvious. n/t

[malaise]

60. Looking for my Smedley Butler

[harun]

56. Was a coup in 2000 too.

[RKP5637]

58. And again nothing was done! So F'en tired of it all. n/t

[RKP5637]

5. This, is really really serious. I hope enough people in the US are seeing this! It ALL

smells so rotten.

[pangaia]

29. Half the US population is too stupid to understand even if they were told.

[RKP5637]

35. And they will defend Trump, no matter what. There is a disease in the US called massive stupidity!

[Mr. Evil]

49. Rampant cognitive dissonance. n/t

[pangaia]

50. They don't know what that means. Just say stupid..

[edhopper]

7. The saddest part is

how many Americans fell for this. Even though it was fairly obvious bullshit.

[pangaia]

31. The stupid half.

All my international friends, both FB, real and FB/real, know what is happening. Every one of them. They are all smarter than the dumb fuck 50% of Americans who can't even tie their shoe laces.

[Hortensis]

12. We need to investigate the FBI's failure to properly notify the DNC

that Russian intelligence had hacked their computer system. By not "properly" in this case, note that one agent called one IT manager, who didn't believe the call was from the FBI and never returned the few followup calls--to him--over a few months.

YET, all the while the FBI continued to monitor Russian activity against Democrats, no one attempted to speak with anyone higher up and never visited the DNC offices a couple blocks away to discuss Russia's entry into the 2016 election against the Democratic Party. The FBI, including Comey, must have drawn conclusions from the peculiar fact that no one from the DNC leadership called the FBI back about this very serious situation, but the FBI, with documentation on file of an initial notification,...did nothing.

Note that Russia also hacked and released emails for a number of Democratic congressional candidates in tight races.

I'm guessing WAY WORSE THAN WATERGATE.

[pangaia]

32. Who is "we?" :))))

[Coyotl]

15. More like to make the election close enough to render stealing it less obvious.

There is no way the election fraud could have been pulled off without Comey's impact on Hillary's large lead.

Imagine this graph without the 4% shift to Trump in the polls a few days before the election. As is, the red shift is both double the 2004 shift and higher in red states.



The red shift is also notably greater in states with contested Senate races than those without.

[Initech]

17. HEY ALEX JONES!!! THIS IS WHAT AN ACTUAL CONSPIRACY LOOKS LIKE!

[Raster]

19. He already knows... he's been doing his part...

...muddying the waters as much as possible to that it makes it harder to actually pin-down the incriminating evidence.

[hurple]

20. Treason

They should ALL be immediately arrested and tried for treason:

Trump
McConnel
Comey
Guliani
Bannon
Manafort
Conway
and all the anti-Hillary FBIers

I probably mis-spelled most of those.

[pangaia]

33. true, But... who is going to arrest them?

[turbinetree]

21. This is just coming across as breaking from yesterday.....................

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/russia-also-meddled-key-congressional

[Fast Walker 52]

22. Abso-freaking-lutely and the Dems need to get their act together to stop this

[True_Blue]

23. Yes much worse than Watergate

At least Nixon wasn't conspiring with the Russians and FBI.

[duffyduff]

25. No, he only stretched a war out for four unnecessary years

because he sabotaged, through third parties, the Paris Peace Talks, to guarantee his election and re-election.

People still don't understand what Watergate WAS. It was far, far beyond the break-in. It and the Chennault Affair go together, with the Vietnam War the thread tying them together.

Nixon's actions were treason, clear-cut treason. Hundreds of thousands of people DIED unnecessarily because of it.

You have to dig pretty hard in American history to find a worse president. Trump ain't there yet. Besides, he is more a puppet than anything else.

Nixon was NOT anybody's puppet.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. I anticipate that Trump will prove to be even worse than Nixon.

The fact that he's Putin's puppet doesn't make him any less bad.

[Jean-Jacques Roussea]

28. "it's not illegal if the president does it"

At least Nixon had the decency to resign

[tomp]

74. all presidents are puppets of the rich to one extent or another. nt

[HurricaneWarning]

24. This was the plan all along.

I think the Republicans will hold back until Trump is inaugurated. They will impeach Trump and put Pence in his place. It's a win-win for them. They will still hold the Congress and have final word on the Supreme Court. I think we are fucked!

[LiberalFighter]

27. Everyone in the FBI that was part of this need to be identified and exposed.

The news media is also complicit with their failure.

[mopinko]

41. the comey letter was the oldest trick in the book, too.

release some hyped up bullshit close enough to election day that it cant be debunked in time.
old school.

[flamingdem]

43. Please arrest and shake down

Get er done

[jalan48]

45. Were the FBI's actions tied to Anthony Weiner? This is all very odd.

[FailureToCommunicate]

54. K & R

[SunSeeker]

55. The numbers show the devastating impact of the "Comey Effect."

As Sam Wang noted, Comey's late-October letter moved opinion 4 points toward Trump. About half of this stuck, which was enough:



http://election.princeton.edu/2016/12/10/the-comey-effect/
https://twitter.com/SamWangPhD/status/807943268529041414



Then the second letter, instead of ameliorating the damage done by the first, just fired up Trump voters. As Nate Silver found, late-deciding voters (those deciding in the last week before the election) broke strongly against Clinton in swing states, enough to cost her MI/WI/PA.




https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/807986531243819008/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hillary-clinton-james-comey-fbi-letter-cost-election-a7468831.html

It was a perfectly-timed October Surprise, coming just 11 days before the election during early voting, not enough time for Clinton to recover.

[zonkers]

59. Frogmarch those agents. How sweet would that be.

[dreamland]

61. Can someone help me understand why?

I don't understand why the FBI would do this? Other than that they were led by Comey.
Why would the individuals of the FBI not think how this could hurt our country?

[workinclasszero]

62. Because they chose ideology and party

over country.

Because they they long for a fascist strong man that will enforce their views. They detest democracy and liberalism and want to outlaw it, one way or another.

[niyad]

64. rachel maddow covered this at length on 3 november

http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/11/03/maddow-examines-how-foxs-debunked-clinton-report-began-fbi-agents-presenting-breitbart-hit-pieces/214289

[rgbecker]

65. My take? It's all about BLM.

The country is crawling with racist bigots. They want cops to be able to kill black people anytime anywhere. Every night they watch the news full of black people being arrested for doing awful things. The FBI is full of the same types who are on the police forces across the nation. I know, I know there are many cops who everyone would be proud off showing extreme courage daily in their work. But basically BLM is challenging police authority and the FBI and others don't like it.

[nikto]

67. This part of the REAL scandal

I put this at a higher level of scandal at this point, than the suspicions
about Russia (unless actual evidence comes out there).

The Comey "announcement" was so obviously insubstantial on it face, that it was clearly
a political attack---The real October Surprise of 2016.

This hurt HC much, much, MUCH more than the DNC info ever did.
It was plainly visible in the polls afterward.

And it was complete bunk.



We must go after this, hard.

[Locut0s]

68. Unfortunately it will be next to impossible to prove it's what got Trump elected...

Don't get me wrong I fully support investigating Comey and charging him with everything possible. However because so far there is no proof of actual vote tampering, something I think we should still seriously look at, it will be next to impossible to prove that the effect of the letter is what actually got Trump elected because the effect was a statistical effect over large numbers of voters. So sadly it's probably next to useless in terms of changing anything about the outcome of the election itself.

[LaydeeBug]

70. Kick. nt

[bucolic_frolic]

71. It is a coup d'etat

The seizing of the government by a faction of extremists masquerading
as mainstream people

We have been handed over to a foreign power and to radical right
business interests

[workinclasszero]

76. I agree

December 19 if the electors vote in Trump we are finished as an independent democratic nation.

A foreign fascist power will be pulling Trumps string from mother Russia and the corporate rule of America will come out of the shadows and run the show from then on.

Dec 19 and January 20th will be the death of this country.

[kentuck]

75. Guiliani

has connections with the FBI. He's a ringleader of anything going on in the FBI, imo