Predictable. From the outset, the Trump Presidency carried with it the stench (or at least an unusual odor) of scandal. Months prior to the election there were stories of collusion between the Trump Campaign - and its cast of characters - Carter Page, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., Roger Stone, Senator and now AG Jeff Sessions, short-lived National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and others - with Russian operatives, oligarchs, hackers, and even Putin himself. Taken together - and with the cooperation of Julian Assange, Wikileaks, and a series of Russian hackers breaking into the DNC computers and stealing Campaign Chair John Podesta's e-mails, a plot was uncovered to hurt Hillary and help the Donald in the 2016 election. In fact, a series of events, including leaks of the Podesta e-mails and other sensitive Clinton Campaign information, were a part of the Kremlin-based plot and, indeed took place. Regardless of whether you think that this sort of political sabotage cost Hillary the election or not, what remains is a substantial cyber-spying-based and "strategic leak" effort to damage the political prospects of one candidate seeking the highest office in the nation. This sort of interference in our electoral process - whether successful of not - is completely unacceptable, is illegal, and, in the view of many, when conducted by an adversarial foreign power, an act of war against our democracy. Even worse, the seemingly close association and meetings between primary actors in the Trump Campaign leadership and Russian operatives over several months during the election and the "bromance" between Trump and Putin that has been obvious from early in the 2016 campaign season, led to serious questions as to whether the Trump troop colluded and coordinated with this illegal Russian interference in our electoral process. Calls for an investigation ensued and, dutifully, both Houses of Congress took up the challenge in January, 2017 with Republicans in charge in both Chambers.
Months earlier, Jim Comey and the FBI were already investigating alleged illegal interference by foreign powers in an American election. And, true to form, the Bureau didn't comment on the status of their investigation. In the House, Speaker Ryan assigned the investigation to the House Intelligence Committee chaired by Devin Nunes (R-CA), while some facets of the work were undertaken by the House Oversight Committee chaired by Jason Chaffetz (R-UTAH). Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell assigned the task to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). Notably, both Intelligence Committees have a similar process - hearings are held in secret and are classified in nature. Classified Information received in the committee is, by definition, also classified, and even committee members are precluded from revealing anything learned through that process. The result is 2-fold protection: First, Republicans control the flow of the investigations and the information generated; and, second, any information that sheds negative light on Trump, his cronies, or supporters, is held in secret and not shared with the public. Further, should anything of a criminal nature be uncovered, a referral goes to the Department of Justice headed by the US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, appointed by President Trump! It seems that the wagons were quite tightly circled. Or, were they? Apart from the congressional committees investigating these matters, including leaks to the press from some inside the investigation, another non-political and respected entity was engaged - the FBI. And, pending the appointment and Senate confirmation of Jeff Sessions as AG, the Acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, a career prosecutor and Obama administration hold-over, was sitting at the top of the Justice Department.From a trump point of view, these two flaws needed to be addressed. So, slow down the committee investigations until that could be accomplished.
Although quiet about the nature and extent of their investigation of Russian interference in our election and any coordination or conspiracy with the Trump Campaign, Comey and company were pressed into service by the congressional committees to assist in providing information already uncovered by the FBI in their on-going review of the matter. Perhaps the view of that element of the investigation was that the pieces were "contained" but not altogether "controlled." Acting AG and Obama Administration hold-over, Sally Yates, visited the White House Counsel on January 26th - just 6 days after the Inaugural - to let the White House Counsel, Don McGahn, and the President know that the newly appointed National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was "compromised" by contacts with Russian operatives, having accepted a substantial payment for a speaking engagement in Moscow some months earlier. Within the week, Sally Yates was fired from her position. (Michael Flynn would not be dismissed until February 13th - 18 days after the White House knew that he was susceptible to Russian blackmail). And, any testimony that Yates was scheduled to provide to the House Intelligence Committee was cancelled by Nunes.
The other wild card, was, of course, Jim Comey and the FBI. And, that is what prompts President Trump to invite FBI Director Jim Comey to the White House for Dinner on January 27th, one week after Trump was sworn in as President and one day after the Sally Yates visit to the White House Counsel. The two shared dinner at the White House alone.... and, that is where their individual descriptions of the dinner conversations diverge. Given the Yates visit the day before, it is easy to see that President Trump might have some concerns regarding the investigation into the Russia connection. Clearly, as Acting AG, Sally Yates either received or shared the info regarding Michael Flynn with the FBI. FBI Director Comey was certainly aware that Flynn was compromised as this dinner took place. In any case, Comey associates describe how President Trump asked the FBI Director if he was under investigation and asked for "loyalty" from Comey. Comey, they say, would not commit to personal loyalty to the President. Comey would not even offer a "pinky-promise" of personal loyalty but only offered loyalty to the US Constitution and the rule of law. Comey associates quoted in the press also denied that Comey told Trump that he wasn't being investigated. Trump has said that Comey asked for the dinner and asked to keep his job. Further, according to Trump, Comey offered at the dinner - and on two separate phone conversations - that Trump was not under investigation. So, with two distinctly different descriptions of who asked for the dinner and what was said there, and no other witnesses, we have yet another mystery - this one involving the only non-partisan player engaged in the Russia-election investigation. Meanwhile, Michael Flynn continued to serve as National Security Advisor. Which description of the dinner conversation is accurate? Was the conversation taped as President Trump has hinted? So far, we do not know.
What we do know is that in his business career, Trump insisted on personal loyalty and trusted few people beyond his immediate family members. Non-disclosure oaths were typically required if an employee worked in close proximity to Donald Trump, regardless of the role that they may have played. And, we do know that Comey had the courage to speak truth to power during the Bush Presidency when both he and the then Director of the FBI Robert Mueller threatened to resign over a Bush-era attempt to re-authorize the NSA Domestic Surveillance Program. Comey and Mueller stood up to President Bush's Chief of Staff and the White House Counsel and, in doing so, risked the anger of the President and his senior staff as well as their careers. Just as in the current Trump case, President Bush - who's order to extend the NSA Program was being refused - could have disagreed and fired them both. Instead, the President demurred and both Comey and Mueller were vindicated. Last week, Trump did not demure. Comey was summarily terminated while at a gathering of potential FBI recruits in California. As I write this, Comey has yet to publicly comment on the Trump matter, the Russian investigation, or his own termination.
Over the weeks following the Trump/Comey White House dinner, we all witnessed a scramble in the House as things began to unravel. Chairman Nunes held 2 awkward press briefings out in the street in DC saying that he had "secret information" from a "reliable source" indicating that President Trump had nothing to do with any Russian conspiracy to interfere in or impact the election. Within a week, the story changed and it turns out the Nunes received the information from unnamed people at the White House, pretended that it came from elsewhere, announced that he was rushing to the White House to share it with the President, and brought the information right back to where it had originated. Nunes also cancelled a hearing on the Russian connection that was to feature Sally Yates, potentially exposing Michael Flynn's Russia connection and the fact that the Trump White House had been informed and did little about it. Within 2 weeks, Yates was fired, Sessions confirmed as AG, and Chairman Nunes recused himself from further involvement in the Russian influence probe. Nunes is himself is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee in this unfolding story.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the House oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz, rattled his committee saber saying that he would launch a substantial investigation into the leaks of classified information to the press from others in the government with an eye toward prosecution of the offenders. Suddenly, just a week later, Chaffetz announced that he would not seek re-election to his House seat and may even leave the Congress before the year is out! We can only speculate as to what brought about this quick about face. No meetings of the Oversight Committee were scheduled. After the Comey firing last week, Chaffetz publicly suggested that the termination of the FBI Director by the Trump White House be added to the scope of the House investigation.
Over at Justice, the new Attorney General Jeff sessions recused himself from involvement in either any Hillary Clinton investigations or in anything to do with the Russian interference in the election due to his involvement in the Trump Campaign in the first instance, and because of his meetings with Russian representatives during the campaign in the second. Sessions announced that any such involvement by Justice in either circumstance would be handled by the Deputy Attorney General, later appointed by Trump and Senate confirmed on April 25th - Rod Rosenstein. On Monday, May 8th, AG Sessions and his Deputy Rosenstein were summoned to a meeting with the President at the White House. Later that same day, the Rosenstein Memo justifying the termination of Director Comey with a support letter from Sessions, was delivered to the White House. FBI Director Jim Comey was fired on May 9th while he was speaking at an FBI recruitment activity in California. The White House Communications Office initially said that the President simply acceded to the unsolicited argument made by Deputy AG Rosenstein that Comey should be fired because of his mistreatment of Clinton during the campaign, a position supported by Sessions. It appears that Rosenstein and Sessions were directed by the President to make the case for the firing, and Rosenstein didn't appreciate being characterized as the person who sought Comey's termination. Rumor has it that he threatened to resign and blow up that story line if it was not corrected. Interviewed by Lester Holt 2 days later, Trump admitted that he himself determined that Comey should be fired on the weekend before the meeting with Sessions and Rosenstein. Trump's decision evidently came after Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee the preceding week regarding the Russia/Trump Campaign investigation. President Trump told Holt that the Russia-election interference probe was a waste of time and tax dollars and should end. Instead, what he ended that day, was the FBI career of James Comey and not the investigation into the Russia interference in our election process. Stay tuned....
Meanwhile, the bodies are piling up - Nunes, Chaffetz, Yates, Comey, Flynn, Page, Manafort, and perhaps others. Trump did "plug" the two holes in the "circle-the-wagons" cover-up strategy by removing the two actors who would not pledge Trump-brand personal loyalty - Yates and Comey. But, in the end, President Trump- the Terminator - may have ended the careers of many others.... , including himself.
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