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NRaleighLiberal

(60,004 posts) Tue May 9, 2017, 11:09 PM May 2017

Slate - "Trump Wanted a Public Execution"

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/05/trump_s_firing_of_james_comey_is_a_warning_shot_to_everyone_in_his_administration.html

The president fired James Comey via letter, while the FBI director was giving a speech.

By Phillip Carter

At this point, it should come as no surprise that President Donald Trump has fired someone he’d spent the past few months praising. What should shock the conscience, and worry anyone concerned about the rule of law in America, is that Trump booted FBI Director James Comey for reasons relating to the octopus of an inquiry whose tentacles extend to the 2016 election, the administration’s Russia ties, Michael Flynn’s ethical shenanigans, and more. The time has now come for Congress to compel the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the Trump administration and its Russia ties, whether by holding up nominees, impounding the Trump administration's budget, or some other combination of legislative pressure. And beyond the writ of that special counsel, Congress should begin its own broad bipartisan inquiry into the Trump administration's war on justice. For politicians on the left and right, May 9, 2017, should be a day of reckoning. There are no shoes left to drop.

In the pantheon of political appointees who serve the president, the FBI director stands apart. All effectively serve as “at will” employees who may be fired for any reason, at any time. But due to the job’s 10-year tenure—one that’s deliberately designed to cross presidential terms—as well as the FBI’s sensitive role in society, we think of the bureau director as someone whose integrity is beyond reproach. The person ensconced in the position is supposed to be both supremely competent and completely apolitical, something of a cross between a federal judge and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Of course, Comey was no mere FBI director. In 2016, he oversaw inquiries that affected both presidential candidates: one into Hillary Clinton for potential mishandling of classified information, the other into Trump’s campaign for potential collusion with Russian intelligence agencies. Comey revealed details about the former, much to Clinton’s detriment, and in apparent violation of Justice Department norms regarding the release of “derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation.” It remains unclear whether Comey’s disclosures affected the 2016 election outcome, though it would be surprising if it didn’t. Since the election, Comey did not step back and cede the spotlight. Rather, he brought attention to himself via his statements regarding 2016, his continuing pursuit of Russia-related national security investigations, and his dust-ups with the White House over Trump’s unsupported allegation that he was wiretapped during the 2016 campaign.

So, it’s a very big deal that Trump summarily fired Comey on Tuesday afternoon. In Washington, there are firings, and then there are firings. Although the Justice Department’s memorandum recommending Comey’s departure carries merit, the timing and tone of Trump’s own termination letter makes Trump’s intention clear: The president wanted this to be a public execution of the sort Voltaire described in Candide as something “to encourage the others.” Consider that Comey was dismissed by letter while he was speaking to FBI employees in Los Angeles. He learned of his own sacking by watching it on television—a fitting outcome given the president’s employment history.

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