Trump fires Comey

Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, May 10th, 2017 - 72 comments
Categories: us politics - Tags: , , , ,

So much for checks and balances. The Guardian is running live coverage: James Comey fired: Trump sacks FBI director, White House says – live (Updated)

What we know so far

FBI director James Comey has been fired by Donald Trump, who said in a letter that Comey was being “terminated and removed” because he was “not able to effectively lead the bureau.

The sacking came after attorney general Jeff Sessions and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein recommended to Trump that he be removed over his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, but critics believe the dismissal is more closely linked to Comey’s role in investigating Trump’s allies over alleged links to Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Comey found out he had been fired while speaking to FBI employees in Los Angeles. He reportedly thought it was a prank.

The controversial move has been condemned by Democrats, many of whom said the sacking was “Nixonian” and some high profile Republicans including Trump supporters.

Justin Amash, a Republican congressman from Michigan said he was reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia in the wake of the news.

Richard Burr, a Republican leading the Senate intelligence committee investigation into Russia’s influence over the 2016 presidential election, said he was “troubled by the timing and reasoning” of the decision.

Chuck Schumer, Democratic minority leader in the Senate, said he told Trump he was “making a very big mistake.”

Meanwhile, a CNN report claims that a grand jury has been convened and has started issuing subpoenas relating to the FBI’s Russia probe. The development, if confirmed suggests the investigation has entered a new phase.

Several Democratic officials have compared Trump’s decision to fire Comey to Richard Nixon’s “Saturday night massacre” when the president removed the special Watergate prosecutor, Archibald Cox, leading to the the resignation of attorney general Elliot Richardson.

Senator Bob Casey called the termination “Nixonian” in a statement and noted Comey’s earlier statements saying he was authorized by the justice department to confirm the FBI’s investigations into Russian interference with American elections:

This is Nixonian. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein must immediately appoint a special counsel to continue the Trump/Russia investigation. On March 20th Director Comey said, ‘I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.’

This investigation must be independent and thorough in order to uphold our nation’s system of justice.”

Here’s a quick overview of Comey’s legacy in the FBI and recent political controversies:

Comey’s FBI conducted investigations into both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the 2016 election – though he only disclosed the investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia after his inauguration.
The FBI director’s controversial decision to release new details about the investigation into Clinton’s email server just days before the election prompted widespread outrage – and lingering suspicion that he swayed the final outcome.
Comey was appointed to the top FBI post by Barack Obama in 2013. He served in the George W Bush administration as a US attorney and deputy attorney general, before spending several years in the private sector.
Comey was the country’s top law enforcement during the period of turbulence over police killings of African Americans. He drew widespread condemnation for statements suggesting that violent crime was rising because law enforcement had been hampered by the so-called “Ferguson effect”.
Comey also waged a high-profile campaign against encryption, calling for tech companies to create “backdoors” to allow law enforcement access to user’s data.

72 comments on “Trump fires Comey ”

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  1. Sable 1
    10 May 2017 at 11:18 am

    In my opinion the problem isn’t who heads up the FBI , its the FBI itself. What it does (and fails to do) and what it stands for (and what it should stand for).

  2. Ad 2
    10 May 2017 at 11:56 am

    Comey was the difference, and Nate Silver has the breakdown on the effect of Comey’s release into the last two weeks of the campaign.

    Hillary Clinton would have been a better President than Donald Trump,
    but Donald Trump is a better DNC renewal programme.

    On balance it’s working out.

    • marty mars 2.1
      10 May 2017 at 12:04 pm

      Your sense of balance is distorted imo if you think it’s working out.

    • xanthe 2.2
      10 May 2017 at 2:18 pm

      I have to agree, with you Ad here, Had the DNC won the election they would have continued their perversion of the democratic process to new and greater heights.

      That the Don was the only other option was unfortunate, but largely the direct result of the DNC’s machinations anyway.

      sometimes the wrong option becomes the only option!

    • Wainwright 2.3
      10 May 2017 at 2:36 pm

      Certianly working out great for all the sick babies and rape victims who can’t get healthcare in the richest nation in the world, but hoo-rah for the leftwing project, that’s what matters.

      • Sabine 2.3.1
        10 May 2017 at 6:06 pm

        Women and children are chattel. Only good to breed and work. Or in other words they are the “identity issues” certain on the so called left and surely non of the right wingers and libertarian care not about.

        • rhinocrates 2.3.1.1
          10 May 2017 at 8:15 pm

          Exactly. The last few months have been a depressing, disheartening time – not only because of the ascendency of the far right, but because self-proclaimed progressive leftists have declared so many real, living people ‘expendable’ to their nebulous aims and then had the nerve to accuse those ‘expendables’ of playing ‘identity politics.’

          If you want to burn houses down to bring on your revolution, burn your own down first and lead by example.

    • rhinocrates 2.4
      10 May 2017 at 8:32 pm

      Well isn’t that just jolly for the twenty million plus who’ve lost their health coverage, or the Muslims, or the deported Latin-Americans, or the people of Standing Rock or…? Do you intend to thank them personally for their sacrifice?

    • D'Esterre 2.5
      10 May 2017 at 11:01 pm

      Ad: “Hillary Clinton would have been a better President than Donald Trump”
      Had Clinton won, Comey would have been gone, probably before the inauguration was over.
      And into the bargain, she’d have started a whole raft of new invasions and attempts at regime change. Lucky escape thus far…
      Regarding Comey’s sacking, see this: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/james-comey-fired-memo-letter-in-full-rod-rosenstein-read-trump-sacks-fbi-director-a7727246.html
      Reading that, I realised how wildly inaccurate the reporting’s been, both here and elsewhere. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at what’s been reported here: our msm simply uncritically repeat what’s broadcast overseas. No attempt at analysis, no scepticism.

      • Sabine 2.5.1
        11 May 2017 at 12:38 pm

        well phew we are lucky then that all that shit that you are so worried about is only happening under the most benevolent of them all Donald J Trump.

        seriously for a moment i was worried, but yeah, thanks for making it all better.

  3. Xanthe 3
    10 May 2017 at 12:48 pm

    It was the right thing to do IMHO, he was too compromised
    Whether it is a good thing or not long term is anyones guess

    • North 3.1
      10 May 2017 at 9:07 pm

      Pathetic Xanthe. Stand in for that (T)rumpeting zealot (C)olonal (V)apour are you ?

  4. Draco T Bastard 4
    10 May 2017 at 1:31 pm

    Comey heard the news while giving a speech

    Mr. Comey was addressing a group of F.B.I. employees in Los Angeles when a television in the background flashed the news that he had been fired.

    In response, Mr. Comey laughed, saying he thought it was a fairly funny prank.

    Then his staff started scurrying around in the background and told Mr. Comey that he should step into a nearby office.

    Due process and all that is obviously not required in this New Age that looks remarkably like what unaccountable aristocrats used to get away with.

    • xanthe 4.1
      10 May 2017 at 2:02 pm

      Well the American people would have good reason to expect a few “your fired” moments. cant disappoint the fans now can we.
      Conduct of FBI in promoting “the russians stole the election” without evidence is simple dishonesty.
      “Due process” in case of dishonesty is usually “your fired” ….. done!

      • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1
        10 May 2017 at 2:12 pm

        “Due process” in case of dishonesty is usually “your fired” ….. done!

        There’s usually the being called into the office, the evidence presented and then the ‘you’re fired’.

        The person being fired doesn’t learn about it via TV while he’s doing his job.

        • xanthe 4.1.1.1
          10 May 2017 at 2:26 pm

          How would that be good TV ? 🙂

          in any case “the evidence” here (for participating in misleading the public) is all in public domain. If trump has the power to fire Comey (an untested assumption !) then he is obliged at some point to make the call. if the dishonesty is immediate and ongoing then “your fired” however delivered is the proper call.

  5. xanthe 5
    10 May 2017 at 2:40 pm

    Hmmm having read the actual documents (belatedly) i see that the reason given for the recommendation to fire was around the public statements when the investigation of Clintons emails was closed and Comeys refusal to back down over his actions then. Which is all fair enough and needs to be seen in the context Comey continuing to make public declarations on matters he should remain silent on.

    • Andre 5.1
      10 May 2017 at 5:29 pm

      Given your attitude to pretty much all other information sources, it’s remarkable you seem to be accepting Trump’s words at face value.

    • Phil 5.2
      11 May 2017 at 12:45 pm

      i see that the reason given for the recommendation to fire was around the public statements when the investigation of Clintons emails was closed and Comeys refusal to back down over his actions then

      Those reasons for potentially sacking Comey were in existence before the November election.

      Trump has been president for three and a half months and could have fired him at any time since January 20, yet chose not to.

      Why? What changed?

      • Xanthe 5.2.1
        11 May 2017 at 9:13 pm

        Not so fast, i said his refusal to back down, what has changed is that Comey went on to make statements about matters that he should not, in particular stoking the russions did it bullshit and openly attacking wikileaks , making statements as fact when the facts are not known. He wasn’t sacked two months ago because it was not known that he would continue on that course, he did and he was

  6. esoteric pineapples 6
    10 May 2017 at 3:10 pm

    For anyone wanting to keep right up to date with what is going on regarding Trump and Russia I recommend Keith Olbermann. He has been on the money the whole time. He pointed out that there were likely two Grand Juries investigating Trump about a week ago. He is brilliant at reading between the lines.

    • joe90 6.1
      10 May 2017 at 4:18 pm

      Boom.

      Washington (CNN)Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

      http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politics/grand-jury-fbi-russia/index.html

      • Xanthe 6.1.1
        10 May 2017 at 5:20 pm

        Key line ” according to people familiar with the matter” ie “we made that bit up”)

        • mauī 6.1.1.1
          10 May 2017 at 6:20 pm

          and the “russian meddling” bit. Just laughable. Get over the election already.

          • marty mars 6.1.1.1.1
            10 May 2017 at 6:42 pm

            would you really be that surprised by russian meddling? It makes perfect sense for so many reasons – I’d be surprised if they DIDN’T meddle – they’d be up for the firing squad if they neglected their duty to make the best possible situation for russia.

            • mauī 6.1.1.1.1.1
              11 May 2017 at 10:20 am

              Trump doing a dodgy business deal with some russians I wouldn’t be surpised with. The russians influencing an election? I mean is there anything friendly the ruskies can do in the eyes of the us establishment? Hmm there’s one country that’s an expert in meddling, just the other day Obama came out in support of Macron leading up to the French…

              • marty mars …
                11 May 2017 at 10:42 am

                Yes the Russians trying to influence the US elections. – your sentences after the question mark are not related to that question.

      • marty mars 6.1.2
        10 May 2017 at 5:56 pm

        yep it certainly seems like flynn was tainted and compromised imo – the detail will sort trump out – he won’t be able to create distance, he will get singed – at least I hope so.

      • Andre 6.1.3
        10 May 2017 at 8:43 pm

        Such a tangled web.

        http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2017/politics/trump-russia-connections/

        Imagine if all those dodgy dealings were investigated with the vigour Ken Starr put into Whitewater. The entire FBI might not be enough to do it.

    • D'Esterre 6.2
      10 May 2017 at 10:45 pm

      Esoteric pineapples: Haha, that Keith Olbermann piece is bollix from beginning to end, isn’t it?
      Money from Russia: good grief! In the first instance, there was and is no crime in their doing business in Russia, however much money was involved. Secondly, that was before Trump announced his intention to run for president. What is Olbermann suggesting? That the wealthy Russians he purportedly borrowed money from were seers and foresaw his ascension to the presidency? Sure…

      • Phil 6.2.1
        11 May 2017 at 9:27 am

        Secondly, that was before Trump announced his intention to run for president. What is Olbermann suggesting? That the wealthy Russians he purportedly borrowed money from were seers and foresaw his ascension to the presidency?

        Trump has been sniffing around a run at the presidency since at least 2010, because he seriously considered running for the 2012 Republican nomination. I’m sure that his Russian business associates were quite happy to help with a presidential bid, because they know that a Trump presidency is good for their business.

        The issue fundamentally isn’t that Trump does business with foreign investors or governments. It’s that he continues to blatantly lie about it and obstruct the American people from knowing the nature of the influence those foreign associates have on him.

        • D'Esterre 6.2.1.1
          11 May 2017 at 12:22 pm

          Phil: “Trump has been sniffing around a run at the presidency since at least 2010, because he seriously considered running for the 2012 Republican nomination.”
          My point stands. He didn’t actually do it then. And he wasn’t a contender at all until last year. So no percentage in anyone buttering him up financially any earlier.
          “The issue fundamentally isn’t that Trump does business with foreign investors…. It’s that he continues to blatantly lie about it and obstruct the American people from knowing the nature of the influence those foreign associates have on him.”
          Precisely. So leave off with the Russia critique. In virtue of what should anyone leap to the conclusion that business contacts in that part of the world must a priori be shady, yet doing business in the UK or the EU would be unexceptionable? This looks like McCarthyism, unfortunately.

  8. Anne 8
    10 May 2017 at 4:23 pm

    Comey was being “terminated and removed” because he was “not able to effectively lead the bureau.

    Bullshit and jelly beans.

    He’s been ‘sacked’ because he refused to stop the investigation into Trump’s links to the Russian hacking of Hillary Clinton’s emails etc.

    There’s nothing surer. If James Comey has been the victim of a major set-up preceding the presidential election – and it’s starting to look a bit that way – then he should spill the beans and do it fast!

    Trump’s presidency is certainly getting a real Nixonian feel about it, so we can look forward to the a*****e’s impeachment within the year.

    • RedLogix 8.1
      10 May 2017 at 4:46 pm

      Nixon was many, many decades ago and in those times the US democratic process was far more robust and healthy. Now I think we are seeing some far more bleak choices. In particular there must be some considerable disquiet in the US military about the prospects of nuclear confrontation in Asia.

      Personally I’ve just increased the odds of a military coup from 1% to say 10%.

      • Wayne 8.1.1
        10 May 2017 at 5:03 pm

        Red Logix

        I would put the prospects of a military coup at zero.

        This will play out entirely at the congressional level. It is the sort of action to galvanise the Democrats to push for as many inquiries as possible.

        I reckon it will take many months. Given the climate in Washington, this could paralyze, or least bog down, the Trump administration. It will be harder for Republican congressional members to march lock step with the administration. Some will now start worrying about their re-election prospects.

        Will Comey be called to testify? Will a special prosecutor be appointed?

        I am sure much more to come.

        • Andre 8.1.1.1
          10 May 2017 at 5:12 pm

          There’s also the Department of Justice. With Sessions recused from the Russia investigation, that’s now in Rosenstein’s hands. We’re about to find out what he’s made of.

          https://thinkprogress.org/the-two-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-comey-firing-aad9e2842be2

        • RedLogix 8.1.1.2
          10 May 2017 at 5:27 pm

          Traditionally I would agree with you Wayne. The US military has a very deep respect for the chain of command ending with a civilian President.

          But these are not conventional times. What I’m sensing is a convergence. First of all any attempt by Washington would be greeted by a violent reaction from his supporters. Secondly this is going to throw Washington into a firestorm of political and constitutional controversy, there is zero possibility of the politicians replacing Trump in an orderly fashion … as happened with Nixon.

          Now throw in the very immediate and non-zero possibility of nuclear confrontation in Asia. Possibly just days away. A first strike by the USA, with all its highly unpredictable consequences would make the USA a pariah state. The world would have to turn against them.

          And oddly enough I think it is the military who more than anyone else, viscerally understand these frightful truths.

          • rhinocrates 8.1.1.2.1
            10 May 2017 at 9:15 pm

            We’re in uncharted waters. While a military coup seems to me unlikely in the short term, I too would not rule it out. There’s a lot of sentiment that’s not overt, but deep and strongly felt. Speaking to US military veterans, there’s a lot of resentment of how the military has been treated by the executive and how veterans are treated. Despite some very superficial jingoistic valorisation of the military, actual combat veterans with narratives contrary to the official line are treated as an embarrassment by the legislature and executive – and they know it and they do not like it.

            Soldiers care in their bones about their honour and if Orange Jesus continues to treat the military as a dildo, congress continues to abuse veterans and as word has it, he continues to abuse and humiliate his chief military advisor, there may be consequences. It may be a small group that organises itself to commit terrorist acts, or it may be a larger, more organised operation that focuses on government itself.

            I do consider a coup unlikely in the short term, but in the long term, ‘more’ does not mean ‘more of the same.’ Trump is obviously not someone who will take restraint willingly and humbly. He will escalate.

      • Anne 8.1.2
        10 May 2017 at 5:13 pm

        Nixon was many, many decades ago.

        Four and a bit decades ago. That’s not long, but I take your point about the US democratic process being more robust in those days. However, I still believe his presidency is not going to last the full term. Indeed, if it follows the Nixon years he will resign the moment he sees the writing on the wall… claim he’s the victim of a terrible set-up and his dim-witted supporters will believe it.

    • Andre 8.2
      10 May 2017 at 5:18 pm

      “Trump’s presidency is certainly getting a real Nixonian feel about it”

      The Nixon Presidential Library is offended by the comparisons. Nixon never fired the FBI director.

      https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/05/09/notnixonian-richard-nixon-library-pokes-trump-over-comey-firing/101491832/

      • Johan 8.2.1
        10 May 2017 at 8:06 pm

        To Andre,
        ….and of course we all know that Nixon resigned quietly. instead of being publicly humiliated due to the impeachment process. I fear (not really) that Trump’s reign on Capital Hill will a short one. Watch the investigations unveil Donald’s money trail.
        The Americans cannot be that stupid to have this clown continue to make a mockery of their politics.

        • Andre 8.2.1.1
          10 May 2017 at 8:20 pm

          Sadly, impeachment has nothing to do with the wrongs that the Chump is doing. There’s already plenty he should have already been impeached for, starting with the Emoluments clause in Article 1 of the Constitution. (He’s in violation of one of the very first things the founders saw fit to mention. Let that sink in). It’s purely about politics.

          Impeachment won’t happen until enough Repugs in the House and the Senate decide the Chump is too damaging to their personal political futures. Right now that means at least 20 Senators and 25ish Representatives have to decide that earning the undying enmity of Trump’s loyal base is less damaging than sticking with Trump (assuming no Democrats decide it’s in their interest to have Trump continue staining the Repugs). That’s a big ask.

          • Johan 8.2.1.1.1
            11 May 2017 at 11:35 am

            “Sadly, impeachment has nothing to do with the wrongs that the Chump is doing. Think Again!

    • D'Esterre 8.3
      11 May 2017 at 10:23 am

      Anne: “He’s been ‘sacked’ because he refused to stop the investigation into Trump’s links to the Russian hacking of Hillary Clinton’s emails etc.”
      And you know this: how exactly? Abstract away from the McCarthyist pursuit of the Russian hacking furphy, and what remains is the memo detailing the reasons for Comey’s sacking. At the risk of being repetitive, here it is again: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/james-comey-fired-memo-letter-in-full-rod-rosenstein-read-trump-sacks-fbi-director-a7727246.html

  9. james 9
    10 May 2017 at 4:37 pm

    Worlds easiest prediction (other than Corbyn having his arse handed to him in the UK elections).

    This will come back to bite Trump in the ass waaaaaay more than he expects.

  11. Andre 11
    10 May 2017 at 7:58 pm

    Trevor Noah, who’s been a bit closer to African dictators than most of us, puts in his two cents.

    “Right now, even Africans are watching this going, ‘Yo, yo, yo, yo! Donald Trump does not fuck around, yeah?”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-daily-show-trump-fires-comey_us_59128f6ae4b05e1ca202ff00?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

  12. Anne 12
    10 May 2017 at 8:45 pm

    Oh look… the day after he fires the F.B.I. director, Donald Trump is to meet with Russia’s foreign minister.

    Just coincidence my dear Watson… just coincidence. (sarc)

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-sergey-lavrov-james-comey-russia-firing-fbi-director-foreign-minister-white-house-putin-a7727511.html

    Donald Trump will meet Vladimir Putin’s senior diplomat at the White House on Wednesday in a signal that US relations with Russia have improved.

    I bet they have! (more sarc)

  13. Foreign waka 13
    10 May 2017 at 8:49 pm

    So Mr Trump sacked the man that helped him winning the election and is-was in charge of the investigation of any Russian connection. Regardless of the politics instead of policies in the US, this move really is revealing of the administration. But since the public votes and most likely 80% of them wouldn’t have a clue about what just happened, we will see more of the same.
    The statue of liberty just shed some tears.

  14. Stuart Munro 14
    10 May 2017 at 11:48 pm

    It’s only surprising because Comey’s electoral interference put Trump in (or is that Putin Trump?). Obama should have thrown Comey in Guantanamo – but he stopped caring 5-6 years ago. The FBI may be destabilized – big win for the Russian espiocracy if it is.

  15. Andre 15
    11 May 2017 at 5:18 am

    The WhiteHouse is apparently surprised there’s blowback. They thought they could just blame Comey’s mishandling of the Clinton investigation and that would make everyone happy. Fukn amateurs.

    “But the fallout seemed to take the White House by surprise. Trump made a round of calls around 5 p.m., asking for support from senators. White House officials believed it would be a “win-win” because Republicans and Democrats alike have problems with the FBI director, one person briefed on their deliberations said.”

    http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/10/comey-firing-trump-russia-238192

    • Anne 15.1
      11 May 2017 at 9:44 am

      From the link:

      the fallout seemed to take the White House by surprise… White House officials believed it would be a “win-win” because Republicans and Democrats alike had had problems with the FBI director, one person briefed on the administration’s deliberations said.

      The naivety is gob-smacking.

  16. Andre 16
    11 May 2017 at 5:27 am

    Who saw this coming? Another early-morning tweetstorm…

    https://www.vox.com/2017/5/10/15608924/trump-comey-tweets-blumenthal

  17. peterh 17
    11 May 2017 at 7:59 am

    So Russia hacked Hollywood
    Russia hacked Clinton
    Very soon you will find Russia hacked the NZ Govt
    Meanwhile a very large German sits back and smiles

  18. dv 18
    11 May 2017 at 8:11 am

    what will Comey leak now?

  19. Ad 19
    11 May 2017 at 8:42 am

    I’m liking this firing more and more.

    Granted, Comey was a non-partisan and highly respected public servant who had served multiple Presidents without fear or favour. Granted.

    But there’s some plus sides for US politics.

    Democrats and the media will be able to show that Trump gets more and more unstable. Great for the mid-terms coming.

    Politicos would describe Comey’s firing as Trump hunting down one of the last mammals in the Washington Swamp, so the whole thing can can go full reptile.

    Republicans can see now that even when they get a win as in the Congress healthcare vote, this kind of President can blow all that goodwill away in a second. Republicans hold both Senate and Congress, but they do not control him.

    Trump supporters show that the President is re-establishing the President as the biggest game in town. He looks like he is enjoying usilizing his available instruments of power.

    The MSM are currently misreading that as the rise of a tyrant. I view it – so far – as re-establishing the proper balance of a democratically elected leader of the world’s most powerful country.

    Trump critics can point to him as a person who will always “play the man, not the ball”. He has no capacity for structural reform, but in his own way he will make the top of military-industrial complex completely beholden to himself alone.

    However those below the top brass will be in full “leak like a sieve and wait this guy out” mode. That started in the Kennedy era: Bobbly Kennedy to J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover had the dirt on the whole family.

    Plus, unlike competent Obama’s educated smugness sucking the air out of the room, politics is back. It’s a circus. It’s finally interesting again. It’s more than a managerial exercise. It’s what it should be, which is a blood sport with some rules.

    I’m honestly beginning to enjoy the show.

    • Andre 19.1
      11 May 2017 at 8:49 am

      Lemme guess, you’re hankering for a return of the Roman circuses. But it was the Christians that got fed to the lions.

      • Ad 19.1.1
        11 May 2017 at 9:10 am

        I’m guessing you can remember a time when politics was interesting?

        He’s bringing the “you’re fired” back to public life. Obama had his chance to do a root and branch clearout and tilt the entire public service his way. He did a bit, but so many of his decisions took too long because there was high institutional resistance.

        The perfect combination for the Democrats is this:
        A flailing, steaming President who achieves very little and takes the Republican Senate majority with him when he is either impeached or flames out going for his second term.

        The perfect combination for democracy reasserting its primacy is this:
        Burn it all down.

        Marshmallow time.

        • Andre 19.1.1.1
          11 May 2017 at 9:15 am

          Yeah. Marshmallows. I’ve already gone through enough popcorn to put me off for life.

          But in the meantime a shitload of vulnerable people are going to get seriously further damaged or prematurely dead. It’s a helluva price to pay.

          • Ad 19.1.1.1.1
            11 May 2017 at 9:41 am

            The worst thing about democratic renewal is that even on its worst day it’s still better than all of the alternatives.

            • Andre 19.1.1.1.1.1
              11 May 2017 at 10:41 am

              I’m not yet confident this will be good for the Dems in 2020.

              Let me put an alternate scenario: the Repugs hold their hyperpartisanship and stick with Trump no matter what until 2018. The Dems get a massive popular vote majority in 2018, but only a small seat majority in the House (coz gerrymandering) and the Repugs keep the Senate (coz the Senate map is really bad for Dems in 2018). Still, the Repugs are spooked by the vote swing and get rid of Trump. Then the massive sense of relief that “things are back to normal” and “Republicans have regained their sanity” returns Pence to the White House for four years of competent evil.

              • Ad …
                11 May 2017 at 1:02 pm

                If Trump had been competent, solid, and substantial …

                If Congress hadn’t passed the new healthcare act …

                If the broad activist alliances hadn’t occurred …

                If most of the MSM media hadn’t turned against him …

                If the rest of the world had turned super-nationalist conservative …

                If Trump had been able to deliver for the rustbelt and working families …

                … then he and the Republicans might have had a shot.

                Maybe it will all be forgiven, Trump will turn around, all will go swimmingly well, and he will raise a great tide of Republican voting again.

                Maybe. But that’s just not the trend right now.
                It’s all going straight the other way for him and the Republicans.

    • Historian Pete 19.2
      11 May 2017 at 10:38 am

      You seem to be under the illusion that the U.S. is a Democracy.With both Democrats and Republicans their representatives are hopelessly corrupt,and big money interests decide who gets elected! Its like arguing whether or not the bandmaster on the Titanic stole a band members oboe as they head for the iceberg!

  20. Glenn 20
    11 May 2017 at 9:35 am

    Employees fired by Trump

    Sally Yates
    Preet Bharara
    James Comey

    Employees investigating Trump

    Sally Yates
    Preet Bharara
    James Comey

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 20.1
      11 May 2017 at 10:03 am

      Good observation!

      Unbelievably – an element of self-interest might have crept into Trump’s decisions.

  21. Andre 21
    11 May 2017 at 12:02 pm

    When the best defense your own people can come up with is: he’s not as bad as Hitler. Give him time, give him time, he hasn’t even had four months yet…

    http://www.salon.com/2017/05/10/republican-congressman-says-that-trumps-possible-problems-are-small-potatoes-compared-to-nazi-germany/