BREAKING: Trump Fires Comey

[Virginiá]

.................

Surely has nothing to hide, right?

[Virginiá]

How will it help him to 'hide anything'?

FBI Directors serve terms that overlap with different presidencies for a reason. And as Yank said, it won't really hide anything, but likely an attempt for him to install a loyalist who he believes will protect him. This isn't normal behavior, and it's highly suspicious.

[Virginiá]

It is sort of other way around if one thinks a while. Trump must be damn sure there is nothing out there, because now the media will 100% attention to ANY (resonable or not) leak, rumor, idea you name it. Now there will be MUCH MORE scrutiny from the media/Dems/anywhere.

Don't you think so?

Or you think Trump didn't understand it?

You're free to give Trump all the benefit of the doubt in the world, and while he's savvy in a number of areas, he's also dumb as dirt in others. My guess is he probably thought this would help his situation overall, even if it resulted in some bad coverage. In the end it'll probably be as effective as Nixon's actions, assuming investigations actually do turn up criminal actions by Trump and his campaign. Or maybe nothing ever comes of this. Who knows, but I still don't agree with you.

[Virginiá]

Hillary Clinton or Tim Kaine would have fired Comey as well, especially after what he did on Oct. 28 and Nov. 6. So I don't see what the big deal is. Clinton-Kaine would have chosen a left wing lawyer just like how Trump would pick a right wing lawyer. It is what it is.

So basically... both sides would have done it?

[Virginiá]

In a sense, yes. If only Bill Weld was the Libertarian nominee instead of Johnson. You think Clinton would have wanted the man who investigated her to continue leading the F.B.I.?

I don't think she would have wanted it, but I'm not entirely convinced she would have fired him either. It would have been very damning and if Republicans controlled a chamber of Congress (very likely), it would have sparked even more investigations. Everything else aside, Hillary is not an idiot.

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Also, jfc people, just stop the petty insults already.

[Virginiá]

Senator Jeff Flake, R-Arizona: https://twitter.com/JeffFlake/status/862124755339685888?s=09

If you take Flake's tweet and trim a few words, you end up with what countless Republicans both on and off this forum have been doing all night:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

At what point do people stop doing the desperate mental gymnastics trying to justify Trump's actions? I know partisanship has a powerful effect on the mind, but jfc. Watching this back and forth with some people strongly reminds me of this guy:

[Virginiá]

I can't read 17 pages.

Could somebody be kind enough to give me a brief synopsis of this clusterf**k?

TD making very good points as usual while marty tells him to leave the forum.

The usual Atlasian pro-Trump luminaries pretending like this was a perfectly reasonable decision, and that there is nothing to the Russian stuff. Also throw in countless "oh now Democrats love Comey!" comments, somehow confusing the desire for a full and unimpeded investigatio(s) into Trump's scandals with like/dislike of Comey.

As-expected responses from Democrats.

[Virginiá]

what the...i don't even....

'Atrocities' that Trump applauded as well.

[Virginiá]

It is perfectly possible Trump fired Comey for some other reason than to impede the Russia investigation (I don't think it's likely, but possible, sure. Trump does stupid things all the time). However, the idea that Trump fired Comey because of the Clinton stuff, that is a ridiculous idea. Trump was happy that Comey did all that, and gave Comey praise for it. He also seemed just dandy about it after taking office.

If Trump did this for less sinister reasons, it certainly won't be due to the Clinton investigation.

[Virginiá]

Did I leave out anything?

Seems thorough.

I am a bit curious how many FBI directors/official(s) Trump will chew through if he stays on for the full term. The problem with being loyal to Trump under these circumstances is that he abuses the hell out of it, and in the process of being "loyal," one would have to ruin their own personal credibility and possibly future career prospects in order to satisfy Trump's sensitive little needs. Given the situation at hand, with Trump under investigation, I just can't help but wonder if he can find (and get confirmed) a director who will stick their neck out for Trump as thoroughly as The Donald demands, and for as long as he is in office.

[Virginiá]

"The question is whether this prospect can safely be endured. And the answer, it is now clear, is no. If sense prevailed, the wheels would already be in motion to remove him from office. Alas, political calculations on both sides of the aisle may conspire to leave him there: the Republicans, in dread of the turmoil his removal would unleash among their base; the Democrats, because he may help deliver them the Congress, as early as 2018.

Usually I've thought that if Trump were impeached, it would wreck the GOP for the next few years due to the backlash among their base, but thinking about it more, if the evidence of wrongdoing is weak upon removal, it could help neutralize some of the backlash Democrats would hope to harness for themselves.

If the evidence is substantial enough that a large majority of the public is convinced Trump deserves impeachment, then removing him from office would be the best option with nothing but benefits for Democrats, politically-speaking.

[Virginiá]

No, it is 'delaying' that hurts him badly. He needs a fast investigation regardless the results (so did Hillary). RussiaGate has actually fewer indication of wrongdoing than HerEmails&Benghazi. And those two were obvious nothing-burgers.

So you don't think anyone on Trump's campaign made an explicit or even implicit agreement to have all those emails/etc leaked, in order to hurt Clinton? You really think after everything that has happened, that that is unlikely? It would be a very simple conversation, and it's already known there are some strange links between various campaign aides/Manafort and the Russians. I don't get how someone could just cross that off the list of possibilities at this point. The only hitch is that such an agreement would be difficult to prove, unless there is digital evidence or some other things I can't think of. That's why we have investigations.

The way I see it is, Trump supporters are just going to continue giving him the benefit of the doubt, and anti-Trump people like myself won't, for numerous reasons, including the fact that his behavior is sketchy as hell and he has no credibility, neither now nor during nor even before the campaign. His entire personality is built around shady stuff like this. It's what he does. He's been a liar his entire life, and has moved from one shady business venture to the next.

[Virginiá]

Not to mention making rushed, unplanned decisions or statements is exactly how Trump behaves. There is a reason Spicer and other surrogates had no idea what to say - because Trump just fired from the hip, as is usual for him. Figuring out who to put in place ahead of time is completely unnatural logic for Trump.

[Virginiá]

Guys, just stop responding to the troll. Don't you see what he's doing? His garbage is already derailing the thread. There is no point in debating him on anything. That's not what he is on Atlas to do. He's here to screw with people.