Thank you! Cogent and concise. All the inchoate, contradictory feelings I’m had about the Comey situation explained and contextualized. A Public Notice and a Public Service.
As graphic as it is, Noah, I appreciate this beyond measure:
‘He caved in advance in the hopes that the leopards would turn to other prey. Instead, the leopards ate his face, and the FBI’s face, and the face of the whole country.’
excellent, Noah. I have pondered Comey's multiple dire missteps all these years and still don't quite get it, but your understanding of it as complying in advance is brilliant and makes total sense. the other tragic flaw in his thinking was assuming Clinton was going to win no matter what he did or said, that his actions would not have catastrophic consequences. it is similarly hard to fathom that after all that has happened, Comey still stands by what he did as reasonable under the circumstances. that he can't admit that he fatally misconstrued what was happening at the time is certainly damning, and betrays an inability to accommodate new information.
Comey cost Clinton the election. I remember the day I heard about him reopening the investigation and knew that was it. The irony that a real crime (Russia collusion) was right there and he chose to pull the Clinton thread. Maybe he was sure she would win, who knows. Good excuse, though. The moral of the story: if you do the right thing and stand your moral ground you never have to second guess your motivations later. Or make up weak sauce excuses.
Another irony: That all this Trump vanity litigation, trotted out at the behest of a man who’s, in the end, just a puppet-king for the Project 2025 boyz.
Individuals, and the institutions they represent, believe that they can predict the future when they capitulate in advance. They cannot. I would note that Comey, by himself, did not cause the defeat of Harris. That assumption would ignore racism and misogyny which are alive and well and more prevalent than people like to admit. I believe he contributed to the Harris defeat, but not in a way that exceeded the racism and misogyny, even though many people refuse to acknowledge this. Comey's comments were used as an excuse because most people won't admit to their racism and misogyny; most people don't even see their own racism and misogyny. Comey believes he is a very ethical and principled human being and acts accordingly. While I totally disagree with his decisions prior to the election, he did refuse to capitulate to Trump during their dinner and was fired because of it. This is not an excuse, simply a reflection.
Comey broke protocol by ever speaking openly about an investigation, particularly when no indictment was forthcoming. He just couldn't resist the opportunity to publicly chastise the woman he thought would be the next president. Once he committed that original sin, he probably couldn't have avoided reporting the reopening of the investigation to review the "new" emails. He is so filled with self-righteous certainty that he's incapable of acknowledging he was in the wrong from the beginning. The consequences for the country could not have been greater.
It was clear in 2016 that Comey did all he could to destroy the Clinton candidacy. It is ironical that he falls victim to Trump whom he has so well served. There is a temptation of Shadenfreude there: it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. True. But the very fact that it is happening at all is frightening as it shows that there are no limits to the lawlessness of the present administration…
"Comey was in fact wrong to go public with half-baked, weak-sauce allegations against Clinton — even if he thought she’d win, even if he feared Republican reprisals, even if he didn’t trust his own right-wing agents. He caved in advance in the hopes that the leopards would turn to other prey. Instead, the leopards ate his face, and the FBI’s face, and the face of the whole country." BINGO! Bring a freezing snake into your house to save it's life. When it wakes up, you get a venomous snake bite. As the story goes, "What did you expect? I'm a snake."
I have called the Orange Sadist since I saw how sadistic he was with the other Republicans during the debates in August, 2016. I have never used his name. In the past months I have added the orange pedophilic sadist (no caps). He is a MONSTER.
Nailed it, Noah! (as usual). Thanks for the reminder that Comey bent the knee before everyone else did and got our collective faces eaten by the leopards. Hopefully his atonement/revenge tour will be better thought out and help restore a bit of sanity to the batshit crazy show that is our politics in some future dimension.
If Comey was so intent on "transparency," he could have simply investigated Weiner's laptop with the intention of releasing the findings if there had been any. Instead, in the cut=throat period just before the election, he cast the shadow of suspicion back on Hillary, costing the country what ultimately has resulted in its democracy.
The indictment against Comey is garbage and will be dismissed, but perhaps it finally taught him an unforgettable lesson.
Thank you! Cogent and concise. All the inchoate, contradictory feelings I’m had about the Comey situation explained and contextualized. A Public Notice and a Public Service.
As graphic as it is, Noah, I appreciate this beyond measure:
‘He caved in advance in the hopes that the leopards would turn to other prey. Instead, the leopards ate his face, and the FBI’s face, and the face of the whole country.’
excellent, Noah. I have pondered Comey's multiple dire missteps all these years and still don't quite get it, but your understanding of it as complying in advance is brilliant and makes total sense. the other tragic flaw in his thinking was assuming Clinton was going to win no matter what he did or said, that his actions would not have catastrophic consequences. it is similarly hard to fathom that after all that has happened, Comey still stands by what he did as reasonable under the circumstances. that he can't admit that he fatally misconstrued what was happening at the time is certainly damning, and betrays an inability to accommodate new information.
Thank you. I’ll never forget or forgive Comey. Yet the is first of the many substacks I read to mention it.
Comey acted out of fear and for that he got this. The lesson: If you are right, then never back down, never.
Comey cost Clinton the election. I remember the day I heard about him reopening the investigation and knew that was it. The irony that a real crime (Russia collusion) was right there and he chose to pull the Clinton thread. Maybe he was sure she would win, who knows. Good excuse, though. The moral of the story: if you do the right thing and stand your moral ground you never have to second guess your motivations later. Or make up weak sauce excuses.
Another irony: That all this Trump vanity litigation, trotted out at the behest of a man who’s, in the end, just a puppet-king for the Project 2025 boyz.
Individuals, and the institutions they represent, believe that they can predict the future when they capitulate in advance. They cannot. I would note that Comey, by himself, did not cause the defeat of Harris. That assumption would ignore racism and misogyny which are alive and well and more prevalent than people like to admit. I believe he contributed to the Harris defeat, but not in a way that exceeded the racism and misogyny, even though many people refuse to acknowledge this. Comey's comments were used as an excuse because most people won't admit to their racism and misogyny; most people don't even see their own racism and misogyny. Comey believes he is a very ethical and principled human being and acts accordingly. While I totally disagree with his decisions prior to the election, he did refuse to capitulate to Trump during their dinner and was fired because of it. This is not an excuse, simply a reflection.
Comey broke protocol by ever speaking openly about an investigation, particularly when no indictment was forthcoming. He just couldn't resist the opportunity to publicly chastise the woman he thought would be the next president. Once he committed that original sin, he probably couldn't have avoided reporting the reopening of the investigation to review the "new" emails. He is so filled with self-righteous certainty that he's incapable of acknowledging he was in the wrong from the beginning. The consequences for the country could not have been greater.
This is the proper perspective. Irony and karma abound.
It was clear in 2016 that Comey did all he could to destroy the Clinton candidacy. It is ironical that he falls victim to Trump whom he has so well served. There is a temptation of Shadenfreude there: it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. True. But the very fact that it is happening at all is frightening as it shows that there are no limits to the lawlessness of the present administration…
"Comey was in fact wrong to go public with half-baked, weak-sauce allegations against Clinton — even if he thought she’d win, even if he feared Republican reprisals, even if he didn’t trust his own right-wing agents. He caved in advance in the hopes that the leopards would turn to other prey. Instead, the leopards ate his face, and the FBI’s face, and the face of the whole country." BINGO! Bring a freezing snake into your house to save it's life. When it wakes up, you get a venomous snake bite. As the story goes, "What did you expect? I'm a snake."
Which is why I call #47 President Orange Snake aka POS. I avoid his name like the plague.
I have called the Orange Sadist since I saw how sadistic he was with the other Republicans during the debates in August, 2016. I have never used his name. In the past months I have added the orange pedophilic sadist (no caps). He is a MONSTER.
The irony: Being required to sign a loyalty oath for the most disloyal man never to evolve.
I detest the fact that I now must support the very man who shoveled us into this disaster.
Nailed it, Noah! (as usual). Thanks for the reminder that Comey bent the knee before everyone else did and got our collective faces eaten by the leopards. Hopefully his atonement/revenge tour will be better thought out and help restore a bit of sanity to the batshit crazy show that is our politics in some future dimension.
If Comey was so intent on "transparency," he could have simply investigated Weiner's laptop with the intention of releasing the findings if there had been any. Instead, in the cut=throat period just before the election, he cast the shadow of suspicion back on Hillary, costing the country what ultimately has resulted in its democracy.
The indictment against Comey is garbage and will be dismissed, but perhaps it finally taught him an unforgettable lesson.
Placate, not palliate. Every other word was spot on.