He thinks it is possible that the government would say these memos are classified, but gives Comey "the benefit of the doubt" on this because his buddy Comey is a "smart and careful guy". But McCarthy does point out that notes of conversations General Petraeus had with the president were considered classified in the prosecution of Petraeus.
To me, an interesting question is, what's up with Comey's claim that he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat over Trump's tweet that he might have taped Comey's conversation?
Comey said that this prompted him to then leak his memo to the NYT through his law professor buddy Richman.
But people have pointed out that the NYT had already published an article based on the memo BEFORE Trump's tweet and before Comey woke up in the night in a cold sweat.
And Sharyl Atkisson pointed out how strange it was for Comey to say this prompted the leak, when after all the tapes would be much better evidence of Comey's account (assuming he is not lying) than an uncorroborated memo by Comey. So his reasoning makes no sense.
My theory: Comey wrote a memo with a false account of the conversation with Trump and gave it to his buddy to leak to the NYT. This was part of the campaign cooked up by the Deep State to smear Trump and create pressure for a Special Counsel, the appointment of which signals eventual checkmate for the Trump administration. We already see Mueller hiring the most expensive and highly-reputed criminal lawyers he can find to go after Trump.
Trump saw that the NYT article was full of lies, knew that it must have come from Comey since it was a one-on-one meeting and tweeted out that the big swamp rat better hope there aren't tapes.
So Comey thought, Oh shiite! How do I get out of this fix?
So my theory is he REWROTE the memo to try to protect himself, and then gave it again to his pal Richman for a second leak to the NYT. He probably told Richman to destroy the first version of the memo and claim that the first leak was based on an oral conversation, and any falsehoods would be said to be garbled in misunderstanding and transmission.
The fact that his pal Professor Richman is in hiding certainly suggests that Richman is worried about his own hide and supports my theory.
Trump can just whip up his own memos... then it’ll be his memos vs. Comey’s memos... same thing as a “he said she said” situation.
I agree. He was the FBI director when the conversation was held. The only way he could get out of the ‘Government property’ question is to admit he wrote them after he was fired. Bwahahahaha! Get out the popcorn! (Yet, now he says he deleted them.....shouldn’t they be able to be discovered on the hard drives that were confiscated the day he was fired.....if he actually wrote them on the day?)
One thing that has never once been a part of Comey’s display of character: truth telling.
Comey has not shown even the slightest inclination of sincerity or that he desires to uphold the truth.
Your theory is a good one. I'd also suggest that Comey's reason for writing the memos about those conversations was not what he said it was. I suspect he was engaged in his own surreptitious investigation of Trump, and changed his story about why he wrote those memos after it turned out that he had nothing to show for what he was doing.
Thanks to Freeper tumblindice for this instant classic. LMAO.
Your theory sounds quite plausible.
Richman should be subpoenaed and justice department officials should scare him with potential for legal consequences, and give him the option of immunity if he sings.
Jay Sekulow is apparently part of Trump’s legal team. In a TV interview this weekend he did not rule out the possibility that Trump could fire Mueller.
I suspect that eventually this will happen.
Since he initiated the request to meet with President-Elect Trump at Trump Tower, Comey was acting in his official capacity as FBI Director, any notes he made of that meeting are Federal government property. He also met, and spoke with President Trump, either in person, or on the phone in his official capacity as FBI Director, so any notes/memos he made as a result of those meetings/phone calls, are also the property of the Federal government. Comey is wrong. They are not his personal property.
Evidence shows Comey leaked his Jan 27 memo on or before May 11.
I think appointment of SC was pre-agreed between Trump, Sessions, and Rosentein - totally unrelated to any leak, only by coincidence of timing. The bogus Comey investigations won't go away on their own, and Rosenstein, the guy who fired Comey (more or less) won't be trusted to deal with them.
My thoughts (posted earlier):
I really did believe Comey’s https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/statement-by-fbi-director-james-b-comey-on-the-investigation-of-secretary-hillary-clinton2019s-use-of-a-personal-e-mail-system July 5, 2016, speech was made for sincere and professional reasons, even though it was wrong in a number of ways.
I even assumed his https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/28/us/politics/fbi-letter.html?_r=0 reluctant letter that the investigation was back on was released under pressure from senior men in the FBI, but only reluctant because he did not want to influence the election.
It takes a lot for me to conclude that someone is moral scum, but former-Director Comey has reached that point. I now realize that I was completely wrong on Comey’s fundamental character. My best read now is that the July speech was to give Hillary cover, and the October letter was only sent because it would hurt Hillary less than the leaks he was warned would flood out.
Since Hillary’s loss? Comey seems to have been a partisan, one of the top tier aides to those orchestrating the “Resist” and impeachment movements. It looks like Comey was fabricating leaks in favor of and even evidence for impeachment. There used to be laws about conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United States, back when the rule of law mattered.
What are the chances that the Director of the FBI would create a contemporaneous memo to refresh his memory, then leak the memo and not keep a paper copy or even an electronic file? That is such an unnatural action for an amateur that it would be implausible from my barber. For a senior and allegedly expert law enforcement officer, it’s completely unbelievable.
WHAT MEMOS? I haven’t seen any gosh darn memos! Have you?
Until I SEE these memos (authenticated) I will be under the assumption that they exist only in Comey’s mind.
It seems Comey-the-Clown was attempting to entrap Trump for a later attempt by the DEEP STATE to REMOVE HIM FROM OFFICE, like NOW.
It's time for Sessions to take the gloves OFF and make stunning revelations during his testimony hinting at WHAT HE FOUND IN COMEY'S OFFICE.
This cannot give any credibility to Comey, which has been lost; it can only call McCarthy's into question.
***To me, an interesting question is, what’s up with Comey’s claim that he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat over Trump’s tweet that he might have taped Comey’s conversation?
Comey said that this prompted him to then leak his memo to the NYT through his law professor buddy Richman.
But people have pointed out that the NYT had already published an article based on the memo BEFORE Trump’s tweet and before Comey woke up in the night in a cold sweat.
And Sharyl Atkisson pointed out how strange it was for Comey to say this prompted the leak, when after all the tapes would be much better evidence of Comey’s account (assuming he is not lying) than an uncorroborated memo by Comey. So his reasoning makes no sense.***
Finally, someone else on this forum has voiced my exact question about Comey. Kudos to you for mentioning Sharyl Atkinson’s thoughts as well. I like your theory. It seems very plausible.
One thing I know for sure is that I always thought there was something off about Comey, and when he gave his presser on July 5 last year, I knew for sure that he was a man without integrity.
He thinks he’s the biggest, best thing ever to happen to mankind. He’s really just a piece of doggy poopoo.