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Does James Comey Have Alzheimer’s

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RiverRaider

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1 hour ago, The Dude said:

Comey has been held accountable. There was a very deep IG investigation and he’s already testified in front of Congress.

 

This was nothing more than one last cheap political stunt from the Republicans before they lose control of the house. Predictably, it did fire up the rubes who thought it actually meant something.

I wonder if he will do any better with the second report pertaining to the FISA Warrants? 

 

 

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. – William James

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The answers that count!

 

Mr. Nadler. Now, you may have answered this already, but one specific assertion is that you and Special Counsel Mueller are, quote, "best friends." On September 5th, President Trump brought up Special Counsel Mueller in an interview with The Daily Caller stating, quote: And he's Comey's best friend, and I could give you a hundred pictures of him and Comey hugging and kissing each other. You know he's Comey's best friend, close quote. Are you best friends with Robert Mueller?

 

Mr. Comey. I am not. I admire the heck out of the man, but I don't know his phone number, I've never been to his house, I don't know his children's names. I think I had a meal once alone with him in a restaurant. I like him. I am not a -- I'm an associate of his who admires him greatly. We're not friends in any social sense.

 

Mr. Nadler. Thank you. I will not ask whether you've ever hugged and kissed him.

 

Mr. Comey. A relief to my wife

 

Mr. Nadler. On page 88 of your book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies in Leadership, you recount a hospital scene during the Bush administration with then-FBI Director Robert Mueller. 63 In the first full paragraph you wrote, quote: Mueller and I were not particularly close and had never seen each other outside of work, but I knew Bob understood and respected our legal position and cared deeply about the rule of law. His whole life was about doing things the right way, close quote. How do you know Robert Mueller cares deeply about the rule of law and doing things the right way?

 

Mr. Comey. Well, from watching him work. I was his supervisor when I was deputy attorney general and he was the FBI director. But most importantly, through that incident, watching him be prepared to resign, to end his career, because he thought the Bush administration was doing things inconsistent with the law, and he wasn't going to be any part of it, wasn't going to have it. And that strength bolstered me during that difficult period but was just typical of the way he approached things.

 

Mr. Nadler. And he was at that point part of the Bush administration. Is that correct?

 

Mr. Comey. Correct. He was the FBI director.

 

Mr. Nadler. And how confident are you that he will do things the right way with respect to the special counsel investigation?

 

Mr. Comey. There are not many things I would bet my life on. I would bet my life that Bob Mueller will do things the right way, the way we would all want, whether we're Republicans or 64 Democrats, the way Americans should want.

 

Mr. Nadler. And is it fair to say that there are no facts that you know of to support the notion that Special Counsel Mueller is politically motivated or biased? Mr. Comey. I don't know of any. I'm smiling at this moment because I can't imagine any, given the nature of that person and his life.

 

Mr. Nadler. And it's still accurate that you're not particularly close to Robert Mueller?

 

Mr. Comey. It is accurate.

 

Mr. Nadler. On October 17th, the FBI responded to a Freedom of Information Act request for, quote, "photographs of former FBI Director James Comey and Robert Mueller hugging and kissing each other," by saying "no responsive records were located." I assume you're not aware of any such photographs?

 

Mr. Comey. I'm not aware of any such photograph. I have never hugged or kissed the man. Again, I'm an admirer but not that kind of admirer.

 

Mr. Nadler. The FBI and the Department of Justice have been more broadly accused of conducting investigations driven by political bias instead of just by the facts and the rule of law. During your tenure at the FBI and the Department of Justice, were you aware of any FBI investigation motivated by political bias?  

 

Mr. Comey. None. Never.

 

Mr. Nadler. Were you aware of any Justice Department investigations that were motivated by political bias?

 

Mr. Comey. Never. None.

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1 min ago, KnewBee said:

The answers that count!

 

Mr. Nadler. Now, you may have answered this already, but one specific assertion is that you and Special Counsel Mueller are, quote, "best friends." On September 5th, President Trump brought up Special Counsel Mueller in an interview with The Daily Caller stating, quote: And he's Comey's best friend, and I could give you a hundred pictures of him and Comey hugging and kissing each other. You know he's Comey's best friend, close quote. Are you best friends with Robert Mueller?

 

Mr. Comey. I am not. I admire the heck out of the man, but I don't know his phone number, I've never been to his house, I don't know his children's names. I think I had a meal once alone with him in a restaurant. I like him. I am not a -- I'm an associate of his who admires him greatly. We're not friends in any social sense.

 

Mr. Nadler. Thank you. I will not ask whether you've ever hugged and kissed him.

 

Mr. Comey. A relief to my wife

 

Mr. Nadler. On page 88 of your book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies in Leadership, you recount a hospital scene during the Bush administration with then-FBI Director Robert Mueller. 63 In the first full paragraph you wrote, quote: Mueller and I were not particularly close and had never seen each other outside of work, but I knew Bob understood and respected our legal position and cared deeply about the rule of law. His whole life was about doing things the right way, close quote. How do you know Robert Mueller cares deeply about the rule of law and doing things the right way?

 

Mr. Comey. Well, from watching him work. I was his supervisor when I was deputy attorney general and he was the FBI director. But most importantly, through that incident, watching him be prepared to resign, to end his career, because he thought the Bush administration was doing things inconsistent with the law, and he wasn't going to be any part of it, wasn't going to have it. And that strength bolstered me during that difficult period but was just typical of the way he approached things.

 

Mr. Nadler. And he was at that point part of the Bush administration. Is that correct?

 

Mr. Comey. Correct. He was the FBI director.

 

Mr. Nadler. And how confident are you that he will do things the right way with respect to the special counsel investigation?

 

Mr. Comey. There are not many things I would bet my life on. I would bet my life that Bob Mueller will do things the right way, the way we would all want, whether we're Republicans or 64 Democrats, the way Americans should want.

 

Mr. Nadler. And is it fair to say that there are no facts that you know of to support the notion that Special Counsel Mueller is politically motivated or biased? Mr. Comey. I don't know of any. I'm smiling at this moment because I can't imagine any, given the nature of that person and his life.

 

Mr. Nadler. And it's still accurate that you're not particularly close to Robert Mueller?

 

Mr. Comey. It is accurate.

 

Mr. Nadler. On October 17th, the FBI responded to a Freedom of Information Act request for, quote, "photographs of former FBI Director James Comey and Robert Mueller hugging and kissing each other," by saying "no responsive records were located." I assume you're not aware of any such photographs?

 

Mr. Comey. I'm not aware of any such photograph. I have never hugged or kissed the man. Again, I'm an admirer but not that kind of admirer.

 

Mr. Nadler. The FBI and the Department of Justice have been more broadly accused of conducting investigations driven by political bias instead of just by the facts and the rule of law. During your tenure at the FBI and the Department of Justice, were you aware of any FBI investigation motivated by political bias?  

 

Mr. Comey. None. Never.

 

Mr. Nadler. Were you aware of any Justice Department investigations that were motivated by political bias?

 

Mr. Comey. Never. None.

Point to posting that?

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. – William James

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Ms. Jackson Lee.     I appreciate getting something in writing. Thank you so very much. Let me thank you, Mr. Comey, for your service to the Nation. I share your view that the American people would have been better served if the lame duck House Republican majority of this committee had scheduled a public hearing instead of a private interview behind closed doors to discuss matters that are vital to the health of our democracy. I fully expect that to be a standard practice for this committee in the 116th Congress under a new Democratic majority. So I have several questions, which I'd like to lay the predicate for. Dealing with the FBI investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, the investigation was an outgrowth of the House 72 Republican Benghazi investigation. A sad investigation, which we now know, because it was confirmed by House Majority Leader McCarthy that it was for one purpose. It had at its principal aim was to undermine and damage the public image and standing of Secretary Hillary Clinton, whom House Republicans feared would be the 2016 Democratic Presidential nominee. You'll recall that House Republicans relentlessly questioned, second-guessed, and attacked her integrity and that of career FBI agents when you announced at your famous July 5th, 2016, press conference that the FBI concluded that there was no evidence to support a finding Secretary Clinton had violated the law. House Republicans bitterly criticized you and questioned the integrity and legitimacy of the investigation. For your part, you were confident enough in the determination reached by the FBI that you've stated under oath the case itself was not a cliffhanger and that no reasonable prosecutor would ever bring such a case on these facts. House Republicans disagreed with you extensively. They wanted you to prosecute Secretary Clinton regardless of the facts. And from July 2016 through October 2016, House Republicans engaged in an almost daily ritual of holding hearings, desperately trying to tear down your investigation and your recommendation. They did not stop attacking you until October 28th, the day you sent your letter to the congressional leaders announcing that, in an unrelated investigation, the FBI 73 had learned of the existence of emails that appeared to be pertinent to an investigation of Secretary Clinton's email server. House Republicans promptly leaked your update, according to the media, characterizing your action as a decision by the FBI to reopen its investigation, even though the FBI had not at that time reviewed any of the emails in question and notwithstanding the fact that you advised them the FBI was not then in a position to assess whether or not this material may be significant. For the next 8 days, a period in which millions of Americans were casting their ballots during early voting, the baseless claims of House Republicans were repeated ad nauseam by them and candidate, Mr. Trump, dominating media coverage in the final days, and did not stop even after your announcement 2 days before the election on November 5th, 2016. That upon further review, that the FBI had again found no basis to believe that Secretary Clinton had committed a crime. Given this chronology and the benefit of hindsight, do you regret not following the Justice Department's policy and practice of refraining from taking investigatory or prosecutory actions that could affect the outcome of an election to be held within the ensuing 60 days of an election?

 

 

The REAL which hunt.  What a joke the whole "investigation" was and IS.

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3 mins ago, RiverRaider said:

Point to posting that?

The ridiculousness, as well as the FOIA request to support Trump's claim of Hugging and Kissing bestest friends.    I have seen it here, trump supporters restating the Trump lie that Comey and Mueller are Best Friends, they hug and kiss.

 

I am working my way through and picking out the absolute stupidest parts that demonstrate the abysmal waste of time, money and effort on the part of the GOP to grasp at straws... 

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Ms. Jackson Lee. But the same is not true with respect to the Trump campaign, which was under investigation for colluding with a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of the 2016 election?

 

Mr. Comey. The Trump campaign was not under investigation. The FBI, in late July, opened counterintelligence investigations of four Americans to see if they were working in any way with the Russians to influence our elections.

 

Ms. Jackson Lee. Those individuals were affiliated with the campaign? I believe they were in some form.

 

Mr. Comey. At least some of them were. The FBI and the Department of Justice have not confirmed the names of those folks publicly, which is why I'm not going into the specifics.

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9 mins ago, KnewBee said:

The ridiculousness, as well as the FOIA request to support Trump's claim of Hugging and Kissing bestest friends.    I have seen it here, trump supporters restating the Trump lie that Comey and Mueller are Best Friends, they hug and kiss.

 

I am working my way through and picking out the absolute stupidest parts that demonstrate the abysmal waste of time, money and effort on the part of the GOP to grasp at straws... 

Maybe start a thread?

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. – William James

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Mr. Comey, Congressman Jimmy Gomez from California. A few questions. There have been a lot of discussion about bias here. I wanted to bring up the potential nominee for the next Attorney General of the United States, Bill Barr. Bill Barr has stated that he sees more reason for the Department of Justice to investigate Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State than investigate conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Do you think this is a useful and reasonable allocation of DOJ or FBI resources?

 

Mr. Comey. I don't. So it's hard for me to react, Congressman, to a statement. I don't know what he meant by that or what the full context was. Unless there are facts that I didn't see when I was Director of the FBI, I don't see a basis for continued investigation on the email front. I don't know what he -- I can't imagine he saw something as a private citizen, so I don't know what to think of that. And I think very highly of him. I mean, I used to work for him. I probably know him better than I know Bob Mueller. I probably just damned him by saying he's a friend of mine, but I respect him. I just don't know what he meant by that.

 

Mr. Gomez. Do you think Bill Barr may be acting out of political motivation when suggesting a new Clinton probe?

 

Mr. Comey. I don't know.

 

 

An example of a line of questioning, like so many from the GOP, where they ask a question pertaining to someone else state of mind or internal thinking/motivation.

 

Of course he says "I DON'T KNOW", how the hell could he?

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2 mins ago, RiverRaider said:

Maybe start a thread?

I am anxiously awaiting the counter point quotes from the GOP investigation supporters that are quick to repeat the Trump tweets and condemnation of the Comey testimony whithout context or first hand reading.

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Mr. Gomez. Bill Barr supported Trump during the campaign. And then during the campaign, he also publicly supported your decision to disclose the Clinton investigation had been reopened. Later, however, he supported President Trump's decision to fire you on the basis that you, quote/unquote, sandbagged the Department of Justice with your unilateral action on the Clinton probe. Do you think that Bill Barr is fit to oversee the FBI and the special counsel investigation in a nonpartisan manner if he were to return to serve as Attorney General?

 

Mr. Comey. I think he's certainly fit to be Attorney General. As I said, I think very highly of him. Whether he should be involved in those particular cases or not is a question I can't answer. I'm sure he'll reflect on it carefully, he's a very smart guy, and get expert advice on it. I just can't answer it without knowing more.

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Mr. Gomez. What do you think may be the factors that led President Trump to nominate or will nominate Bill Barr as Attorney General?

 

Mr. Comey. I don't know. I know Bill for years and his record as a lawyer and as the Attorney General, and I think they're impressive. But I don't know what the President was thinking.

 

Mr. Gomez. I do believe that Congress has a role in the oversight of the executive branch. My concern is what are the lines of that oversight. What factors could you take into account that oversight leads to interference with an ongoing investigation? Or is there anything in your mind that would be off limits?

 

Mr. Comey. Well, hard to answer in the abstract.

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PG 120 - 121  testy, good for a laugh

 

Mr. Comey. Can I have your question again, Mr. Gowdy?

 

Mr. Gowdy. Pardon me?

 

Mr. Comey. What's the question again?

 

Mr. Gowdy. God, if I remember. I think it was whether or not the Bureau made any effort -- oh, I think what I asked is whether or not you had an idea the scope, the breadth, of the number of sources or subsources Steele relied upon.

 

Mr. Comey. I don't. I have a recollection that there were a variety of sources and subsources, but I don't have a sense of the scope.

 

Mr. Gowdy. Do you have a sense that the Bureau was able to identify every source and subsource Steele relied upon?

 

Mr. Comey. I don't know one way or another.

 

Mr. Gowdy. I'm going to let Mr. Ratcliffe take over from here, other than I'm going to ask you whether hearsay is ordinarily admissible in court or not.

 

Mr. Comey. Is this a quiz?

 

Mr. Gowdy. No. Well, if I didn't think you could answer it, I wouldn't have asked you. I know you know the answer.

 

Mr. Comey. It depends upon whether it fits within one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule.

 

Mr. Gowdy. Assuming -- what's the general rule? We won't get to the exceptions. The general rule, is hearsay admissible 120 or not admissible?

 

Mr. Comey. Well, the general rule is that hearsay is not admissible unless it falls within one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule.

 

Mr. Gowdy. Right. And we're going to assume for the sake of argument that there's no exception unless you can identify one. What is the definition of -- well, is it an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted?

 

Mr. Comey. Yes, that's my recollection.

 

Mr. Gowdy. All right.

 

Mr. Kelley. You know, Mr. Gowdy, we've agreed to be here to talk about the questions and decisions made and not made in connection with the investigation of Russia and Clinton's emails.

 

Mr. Gowdy. Yes.

 

Mr. Kelley. And we've been very patient, but why don't we get to the point instead of asking ridiculous questions about the definition --

 

Mr. Gowdy. The fact that you think it's ridiculous is of no consequence to me whatsoever, Mr. Kelley.

 

Mr. Kelley. I'm sure it's not.

 

Mr. Gowdy. It's not. And I've asked almost every other witness, none of whom had an attorney that didn't understand the relevance of that question. So that's between you and Mr. Comey. But the reason that I want to ask about hearsay is the ability to rely upon information that cannot be cross-examined. That's why I want to ask about it. And if you can't see that, then y'all can discuss that on the next break, but I'm going to go back into it, and for now, it will be Mr. Ratcliffe's turn.

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