Trump accuses Comey of perjury following Comey testimony.

[The Romulan Republic]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics ... mp-perjury

On Twitter Friday morning, President Donald Trump accused former FBI Director James Comey of making “false statements and lies” in his congressional testimony (while also claiming that the testimony somehow delivered him “complete vindication”):


It’s nothing new for Trump to accuse his political enemies of lying, but what makes this a particularly serious accusation is that Comey was under oath before Congress. So if he was lying, he was committing perjury. And if found guilty under the general federal perjury statute, Comey could get a prison sentence of up to five years.

But Trump’s accusation is very difficult to believe here, for several reasons.

First, Trump himself has raised the prospect that he could have “tapes” of his conversations with Comey.


So Comey knew weeks ago that there was a possibility that his conversations with Trump were recorded. Why in the world, then, would the former FBI director go give false testimony about them, if he’s well aware there could be irrefutable evidence contradicting his claims and exposing him to prosecution? Comey’s behavior makes a whole lot more sense if, as he said, he believes any tapes will vindicate him. (“Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” he testified.)

Second, while there are certainly many cases in which administration officials have committed perjury, it makes most sense when done to protect the president or higher-ups in the administration. The hope would be that the president’s allies could shield them from prosecution or, failing that, that the president could pardon them (as in Iran-Contra).

This makes no sense in Comey’s case, because he would have to be deliberately committing perjury in order to hurt the president, knowing full well that the president’s allies would be highly motivated to try and prosecute him for even the smallest factual discrepancies.

Third, where the factual record is in dispute, Comey has evidence, and so far Trump has presented none.

Despite the president’s claim Comey told many lies, a statement from his personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz only names two specific instances in which he says Comey’s testimony is false. They are:

“The President never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including suggesting that Mr. Comey ‘let Flynn go.’”
“The President also never told Mr. Comey, ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty’ in form or substance.”
This contrasts with Comey’s testimony, which claims:

“[On February 14, President Trump] then said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
[At a dinner on January 27] the President said, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.” ... [Later in the dinner] he then said, “I need loyalty.”
But Trump’s lawyer presents zero actual evidence that what Comey said is false. In contrast, Comey wrote contemporaneous memos documenting each interaction that he wrote and shared with FBI leaders.

So essentially the president is accusing Comey of lying under oath about both of these topics, and in the memos he wrote and distributed months ago. If Trump has any evidence that his accusations are true, it’s nowhere to be seen. And note that while Comey’s side of the story was given under oath, Trump’s has not been.

Well, there we have it. Trump is officially trying to jail his critics.

[lsgreg]

I think Trump should take the stand and tell everyone why Comey committed perjury rather than use social media to make accusations.

[The Romulan Republic]

I think Trump should take the stand and tell everyone why Comey committed perjury rather than use social media to make accusations.

Indeed.

However, I don't expect the Windbag in Chief to actually follow through. And I'm sure his lawyers are urging him not to, which is doubtless the right call from their point of view, because knowing Trumps tendency to spout off contradictory rants at the drop of a hat, I fully expect Trump to perjure himself if he takes the stand under oath.

Which just makes me want him to all the more.

[FuelDrop]

Look, America, you got us. "Ha Ha, Trump is president! I can't believe you fell for that!" Yes, you guys sure pulled a fast one on us! So can we get the real results for the election now? Please?

[Karha of Honor]

Look, America, you got us. "Ha Ha, Trump is president! I can't believe you fell for that!" Yes, you guys sure pulled a fast one on us! So can we get the real results for the election now? Please?

I would love to see Hillary come in and be incredibly unpopular.

[Rocketboy1313]

I would love to see Hillary come in and be incredibly unpopular.

If she were to somehow become president they would find a way to blame her for President Trump.

[FuelDrop]

To be honest, I think you could use some better presidential candidates next time. Neither of the big two were any good. You guys have a lot of people over there, surely you can find one or two who are better suited than Hillary or Donald?

[Fixer]

I saw brief clips of the Republican nomination debates. They were so clueless out of touch I couldn't believe any of them could become president.

As for the Dems, Bernie was their best shot but we know the DNC's corruption sabotaged that effort.

Frankly it seems that the West's modern political and media environment is practically built so that no-one competent or genuine has any real chance of getting elected.

[Karha of Honor]

I would love to see Hillary come in and be incredibly unpopular.

If she were to somehow become president they would find a way to blame her for President Trump.

She deserves bad things happening to her.

I saw brief clips of the Republican nomination debates. They were so clueless out of touch I couldn't believe any of them could become president.

As for the Dems, Bernie was their best shot but we know the DNC's corruption sabotaged that effort.

Frankly it seems that the West's modern political and media environment is practically built so that no-one competent or genuine has any real chance of getting elected.

I could see the press changing and not just in the distant future.

[Fixer]

She deserves bad things happening to her.

Such as? She's gone down in history as the candidate that lost to Trump and she's also married to Bill Clinton.

To paraphrase Red Dwarf.
She's only guilty of being Hillary Clinton. That is her crime. It is also her punishment.