By Florida Bill No matter how you cut it and despite continuing opposition and bias against the Republican president, I see no way that former FBI Director James Comey will survive without, at the very least, a censure for his misconduct. Conversely, there is speculation that the veteran G-man will be indicted for criminal behavior, although that is a long shot.
Comey has been under investigation by Inspector General Michael Horowitz since January 12, 2017, eight days before President Trump was sworn into office, for conducting a "sham" investigation into the alleged criminal mishandling of emails by Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State.
At his news conference 15 months ago, Horowitz said that if he found misconduct on the part of anyone, he would recommend their prosecution by the attorney general. Some details of the conduct of Comey's deputy, Andrew McCabe, have been revealed and have resulted in his recent discharge from the FBI for lying and misconduct. Horowitz' full report is expected this month.
On May 9, 2017, three and one-half months after being sworn in as President, Trump fired Comey for incompetence and for dishonoring his oath of office.
It would be foolhardy for Horowitz to overlook or wink at the suspicious behavior of Comey who followed the orders of his superior, Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch; and there are indications that Mrs. Lynch, an appointee of President Obama, was in step with the wishes of President Obama who had publicly endorsed Mrs. Clinton for President.
Comey was appointed FBI director in 2013 by President Obama, and he replaced Robert Mueller who had served as director of the elite federal police agency since 2001. Comey and Mueller are close personal friends.
Comey's conduct in the investigation of Hillary Clinton is considered by many as make-believe, conducted in such a way so as to not allow derailment of her candidacy. Clinton was considered certain to win the presidency and to defeat Republican Donald Trump.
In his investigation of Mrs. Clinton, Comey declined use of a grand jury and passed out grants of immunity to Clinton friends and employees as though they were pieces of candy. He followed the mandate of his boss, Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch, and referred publicly to the criminal probe into Clinton misuse of classified emails as a ho-hum, "matter" in accord with what the media was calling it. In truth, the investigation was a criminal matter for which Mrs. Clinton could be sent to jail, and Comey himself has acknowledged that in public statements.
In other questionable conduct by Director Comey, an attorney with years of experience, he declined to formally question Mrs. Clinton under oath and so far as is known, there is no transcript of any interview. A statement exonerating Mrs. Clinton of any wrongdoing was actually composed by Comey and his team some two months prior to the conclusion of the investigation into her conduct. In a news conference in July of 2016, Comey said that Mrs. Clinton had broken laws, but that she would not be prosecuted because she lacked "criminal intent."
Through manipulations and the help of Comey, Robert Mueller, Comey's close friend, was appointed a "special prosecutor" with the mission of determining if President Trump had "colluded" with Russians in an effort to be elected. That appointment came about one week after the President fired Comey. When "collusion" hit a dead end, detractors began accusing President Trump of "obstructing justice" in his discharge of Comey. That too is a fantasy and just more nonsense from the playbook of embittered Democrats. Trump had the constitutional authority to fire the FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all.
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