Priebus committed a serious ethical & potentially legal violation. He should resign immediately

[kpete]

Last edited Sun May 21, 2017, 09:56 AM - Edit history (1)

BOSTON GLOBE:
By Michael A. Cohen MARCH 21, 2017

. ........

First of all, we know that Priebus’s public assertion that the New York Times story on contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence is simply not true. If there were no contacts, then the FBI clearly wouldn’t be investigating Trump and his aides. At the very least, Priebus lied to the American people and should apologize for doing so.

Second, Priebus’s claim that he was “approved” by the FBI to say the Times story was wrong is dubious, since Comey on Monday implicitly confirmed that the story was correct. Moreover, why would McCabe have acted so inappropriately in reaching out to Priebus to tell him the Times story was “BS” when we now know from Comey’s testimony that the story is not BS?

The more likely explanation for the contacts between Priebus and the FBI — which of course the White House does not deny took place — is that it was Priebus who reached out to McCabe and Comey and asked them to dispute the story.

If all this is true, then Priebus not only violated longstanding norms that severely limit contact between the White House and the Department of Justice, but his outreach to the FBI looks very much like an implicit effort to pressure the FBI into denying the Times story. That sounds a lot like obstruction of justice.

Even if Priebus did not intend to pressure the FBI about the investigation, his contact with Comey and McCabe gives the appearance that this is exactly what he was trying to do.

In short, none of the White House’s explanations about the nature of the contact between Priebus and the FBI make any sense.

The more logical explanation is that Priebus committed a serious ethical – and potentially legal – violation.

He should resign immediately.


http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/03/21/reince-priebus-should-resign/M6H5KmokyERBeGWVmoNYJL/story.html

[malaise]

1. Is this why he cut the trip short

[MineralMan]

2. As it turns out, he's apparently flying back to the US,

instead of continuing on Trump's trip. Hmm...

[riversedge]

3. 2 months later and Reeces Pieces is still hanging around.

[Mr. Ected]

4. This piece is two months old

But the players implicated, namely Priebus and McCabe, are more topical now than ever.

My question is, did McCabe really tell Priebus that the NYT story was "bullshit", as has been reported, and if so, why would he have told him that, given the nature and inertia of the ongoing Trump-Russia investigation at the time?

Was this a case of McCabe going rogue and showing his true colors? Or is this a case of Priebus misstating the course of events and McCabe's dialogue with him? And why didn't McCabe or Comey dispute that assertion, if inaccurate?

So many questions. I'm going over to Louise Mensch's blog to get a definitive answer. LOL.

[L. Coyote]

5. That sounds a lot like CONSPIRACY to obstruct justice.

Trump involved others in his obstruction efforts. Those manipulating anyone at Justice and FBI and soliciting their engagement to influence media can be seen as evidencing attempts to influence the person being asked to push a certain narrative to the media. The person being told the false cover-up narrative is also a target of influence peddling and the person delivering Trump's false narrative is part of the obstruction conspiracy.

Trump's New Impeachable Offenses: Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy, Abuse of Power

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[KingCharlemagne]

6. What did Preibus know and WHEN did he know it? - nt

[KingCharlemagne]

7. This is what "justice" looks like in a one-party state. - nt