By Bill JuneauHe is a towering six-feet, eight inches tall, and he walks with the swagger of an untouchable. He has written a book about his virtuous self and has acquired a net worth of about $14 million.
He used to be the Director of the FBI, the most respected police agency on the planet — until he got fired for incompetence and the leaking of classified documents to the media.
That's James Comey, and now it's his turn at bat as a witness before the Senate Judiciary Committee which is investigating the origins and machinations behind the attack on President Donald Trump. Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has said that the committee will continue "full steam" until it gets to the bottom of the shameful attempt to discredit and take down the nation's duly elected 45th President.
In September, Comey, 59, will be testifying under oath, said Graham, and the 22-member committee will have plenty of questions for him. He has been subpoenaed and will be there testifying, assuming he does not plead the fifth amendment against self-incrimination.
In the past few months, two other witnesses have delivered key testimony before the committee and they told of efforts aimed at the undermining of the President and his appointees with Comey as a participant.
Former acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testified in June that the $33 million dollar Robert Mueller investigation into alleged "collusion" with Russia was unwarranted, ill advised and unnecessary.
In May, 2017, the bespectacled Rosenstein ordered the investigation and appointed his friend and former colleague, Robert Mueller, as a special prosecutor. Rosenstein testified that he now regrets doing so, explaining that at the time he was unaware of the backstage fraud and dishonesty which was demanding the appointment. In so many words, he gave credence to charges that the investigation was a "witch hunt" and a "hoax" as it has been labeled by the President and other fair-minded Americans, Democrats, as well as Republicans.
Earlier this month, Sally Yates, an ill-tempered Democrat who had served as a deputy attorney general before she was fired by President Trump for "insubordination," provided testimony which threw Comey "under the bus," said Graham. "I was upset that Director Comey didn't coordinate that (Flynn plan) with us and acted unilaterally, Yates said. He went "rogue" in his actions to bring down General Michael Flynn, National Security Adviser, Yates explained.
Without authority from the Justice Department, Gates recalled, Comey ordered an FBI interview of General Flynn. After a sneak interview with the general, the FBI arrested him and accused him of lying to them. The agents had been had-picked by Comey and one of them was Peter Paul Strozok, whose animosity for President Trump was well known among agents and grossly evident in his personal emails to fellow agent and paramour, Lisa Page.
After some 30 months of litigation, the prosecution of Flynn was terminated on order of Atty. Gen. William Barr, who determined that Flynn had been "set up" via a preconceived plan hatched by Comey and Obama loyalists. Barr's refusal to prosecute Gen. Flynn is being reviewed by the D.C. Appellate court, but Barr is expected to prevail. Flynn is a retired army three-star general who served on active duty for 33 years.
Prior to his appointment by Trump as NSA chief in December 2016, Gen. Flynn had served as Defense Intelligence Director in the administration of President Obama. Apparently, Comey feared that Flynn's strong presence on the Trump team would interfere with Democrat plans to discredit President Trump. In Comey's mind, Flynn was a liability and had to be removed, and Sen. Graham avers that Comey will be asked to explain the entire Flynn charade.
Based on evidence, and investigations by Inspector General Michael Horowitz and others in high places in government, Comey's hands are deeply stained as a leading member of the swamp gang which manipulated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), and fraudulently obtained warrants which allowed FBI agents to spy upon the Trump campaign and the Trump White House.
Also, it was Director Comey who led a "sham" criminal investigation into the misuse of emails by Hillary Clinton and only winked as Clinton deleted 33,000 emails after receiving a federal subpoena to produce them. No Grand Jury was ever impaneled and Clinton friends were given immunity but still declined to answer questions.
Comey usurped the authority of then Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch when he announced at a news conference in July, 2016, that Mrs. Clinton would not be prosecuted because, while she had broken many laws, she lacked the requisite criminal "intent."
On May 9, 2017, with concurrence of Atty. Gen. Sessions and members of his legal staff, President Trump fired Comey and labeled him "incompetent" and a "leaker" of classified documents. He also castigated Comey for his mishandling of the Clinton email investigation and for giving her a "get out of jail free" card.
As a new assistant U.S.attorney, Comey worked under the direct supervision of U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani in New York's Southern District. Giuliani has been critical of Comey's attitude and ability. "He started work as a choir boy, but turned into a devil .... and as FBI chief, he lacked respect from agents working for him," said Giuliani whose success as a New York prosecutor laid the groundwork for his election as a two term mayor of the nation's largest city.
As an attorney, and a 1985 graduate of the far left University of Chicago law school, he enjoyed the friendship of President Obama, a lecturer at the law school, who appointed him FBI director in 2013.
Comey is among the more than 40 persons who have been subpoenaed to provide testimony as to when, why and how the swamp gang attempted to torpedo the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump. Others who have been subpoenaed include Comey's deputy at the FBI, Andrew McCabe; former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of Intelligence, James Clapper.
Some members of the Senate committee want subpoenas served upon Joe Biden and his son Hunter, but Chairman Graham has so far resisted calling them as witnesses.
We will keep going until everyone knows exactly what happened in those sordid times, and we hope that eventually, justice will be served, said Chairman Graham.
Bill Juneau worked for 25 years as a reporter and night city editor at the Chicago Tribune. Subsequently he became a partner in a law firm and also served as a village prosecutor and as a consultant to the Cook County Circuit Court and to the Cook County Medical Examiner. He is currently writing columns and the 'Florida Bill' blog.
Free Press International
