One of the most interesting new disclosures today in the Comey hearing was the admission by former FBI Director James Comey that he intentionally used a “friend” on the Columbia law faculty to leak his memos to the media. Comey says that he did so to force the appointment of a Special Counsel. However, those memos could be viewed as a government record and potential evidence in a criminal investigation.
Notably, Columbia Law School Professor Daniel Richman on a faculty webpage reads that he is “currently an adviser to FBI Director James B. Comey.” Richman specializes in criminal law and criminal procedure.
The problem is that Comey’s description of his use of an FBI computer to create memoranda to file suggests that these are arguably government documents. Comey admitted that he thought he raised the issue with his staff and recognized that they might be needed by the Department or Congress. They read like a type of field 302 form, which are core investigatory documents.
The admission of leaking the memos is problematic given the overall controversy involving leakers undermining the Administration. Indeed, it creates a curious scene of a former director leaking material against the President after the President repeatedly asked him to crack down on leakers.
Besides being subject to Nondisclosure Agreements, Comey falls under federal laws governing the disclosure of classified and nonclassified information. Assuming that the memos were not classified (though it seems odd that it would not be classified even on the confidential level), there is 18 U.S.C. § 641 which makes it a crime to steal, sell, or convey “any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof.”
There are also ethical and departmental rules against the use of material to damage a former represented person or individual or firm related to prior representation. The FBI website states:
Dissemination of FBI information is made strictly in accordance with provisions of the Privacy Act; Title 5, United States Code, Section 552a; FBI policy and procedures regarding discretionary release of information in accordance with the Privacy Act; and other applicable federal orders and directives.”
Lawyers generally ask for clients or employers to release information, particularly when it may be detrimental to the firm or the client or someone associated with your prior representation.
By the way, waking up in the middle of the night (as described by Comey) is not generally the best time to decide to leak damaging memos against a sitting president. There are times when coffee and a full night’s sleep (and even conferral with counsel) is recommended. Leaking damaging memos is one of those times. Moreover, if Comey was sure of his right to release the memo, why use a law professor to avoid fingerprints?
I find Comey’s admission to be deeply troubling from a professional and ethical standpoint. Would Director Comey have approved such a rule for FBI agents? Thus, an agent can prepare a memo during office hours on an FBI computer about a meeting related to his service . . . but leak that memo to the media. The Justice Department has long defined what constitutes government documents broadly. It is not clear if Comey had the documents reviewed for classification at the confidential level or confirmed that they would be treated as entirely private property. What is clear is that he did not clear the release of the memos with anyone in the government.
Comey’s statement of a good motivation does not negate the concerns over his chosen means of a leak. Moreover, the timing of the leak most clearly benefited Comey not the cause of a Special Counsel. It was clear at that time that a Special Counsel was likely. More importantly, Comey clearly understood that these memos would be sought. That leads inevitably to the question of both motivation as well as means.
What do you think?
The bottom line is that Comey unveiled himself as a leaker and perhaps subject to prosecution. Comey admitted to doing something that is perhaps not supposed to be done. And, all the Trump dupes are attacking him for that. However, none of the Trump dupes can see past this fog. Trump is an unbalanced, megalomaniac, who lies without restraint, obstructs the law, and who knows what else. The sooner he is out of DC the better. The issues revolving around if one can or cannot ‘leak’ or disclose will go on well after Trump is gone.
For the simple minded, Comey breaching protocol or the law in exposing Trump for what he is, a lying sack of sh*t, obstructor of justice, etc. does not excuse this travesty we call a President.
Personally, in spite of our differences, I accept you as a qualified expert in “Simple Mindedness.”
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
And, as usual, that’s all you have.
Because, as usual, name calling is pretty much all you offer. I am still waiting for some sort of argumentation from you on such things as why you think Trump is “childish” vis a vis perhaps some other politician that you think is “un-childish”. Don’t get me wrong. Name calling is fun, logical, and germane, and I see nothing wrong with doing it (obviously), BUT you also need something other than just name calling sometimes.
Which, when you do stray from your bread and butter, we just get some blah blah blah about duopolies and how zen and yang balance out. Sooo, that is why the sedge has withered from the lake, and no birds sing.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Doesn’t the President get the final say on what is classified? Wasn’t Trump within his rights as President, to ask the FBI to declassify the fact that the POTUS was not under investigation?
Didn’t Comey break the law when he failed to declassify that information as requested by the POTUS?
Clearly Trump’s ability to govern was hampered by the frame job the press was doing, and it was in the national interest that the information be declassified! Trump was not the target of the investigation! Comey refused to tell the American people the truth.
Trump made a request as President, for national security reasons! And Comey refused!
Thank you for your testimony, Comey. Now we will sail into history.
It’s time for a song. And it’s a great day, let them sing & sing along.
I took two classes with Richman at Fordham Law, Federal Criminal Law in Fall of 1999, and Evidence in Fall of 2000. He brought in at least 5 guest speakers who were all either former or current federal prosecutors. He seemed like a bit of a political hack. He laughs a lot for a professor. He was lecturing on a Mann Act prosecution case about a Democratic holdover appointee under the Mann Act. It is ironic that his “friend” Comey was a holdover. I believe that Comey was pretty much handled by this guy. That whole spiel Comey gave about “nothing is completely private, not even our thoughts” has a Richman ring to it. He is a sophist, IMO.
OMG.
Let me guess.
Comey is as guilty as sin of numerous delineated violations
BUT
he had no intent.
AND
President Trump cannot debate, consider, converse or otherwise speak
with staff elected officials, appointed officials or any and all foreign persons.
We are living in a matrix created by Franz Kafka for his own amusement.
“President Trump cannot debate, consider, converse or otherwise speak
with staff elected officials, appointed officials or any and all foreign persons.”
Absolutely everything will be leaked, but it’s only Roosians he can’t talk to because the DNC and MSM have declared them the “enemy.” By odd coincidence, today is the 50th anniversary of friendly (?) Israel’s deliberate and premeditated attack on what they knew was a US intel ship. 34 killed, 174 wounded. But maybe LBJ told them to do it (for whatever nefarious purpose), given that he was truly deranged and likely capable of anything.
This might be the real “bombshell” to come out of today’s testimony…..
A bombshell that shall be buried DEEP.
No one has the guts to say the obvious. We are two countries now and if we divided the parts that are progressive / socialists / marxists it would collapse in two years. Don’t believe the hype that California wants to leave the country. They know that without government funding, a vast majority of the “progressive” businesses would flee like rats off ships as the tax burden would force the state to drain all profits to pay for illusionary social programs.
Wait. Did you say “California?”
The affirmative action, radical extremist, foreign and un-American senatorette from California, who recently made a fool of herself on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is a result of “democracy” as Tytler described it in the quote below.
California is a one-party, dictatorial communist state that tells people whom to vote for.
The last race for U.S. Senate in California offered TWO DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES
and NO REPUBLICAN or other party candidates.
Californians had the choice of a DEMOCRAT or a DEMOCRAT.
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the people discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy–to be followed by a dictatorship.”
― Alexander Fraser Tytler
To be sure, the American Founders established a restricted-vote republic with severely limited government
which the Imperial Judiciary saw fit to dissolve by omission.
“…TO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY…”
Not so much.
The important things that camoe out with that there were no crimes committed except possibly by Comey not reporting his notes to is superiors and Comey not moving on Loretta Lynch”s obstruction of justice in order to influence the election as he should have especially coming on the heels of the airplane meeting but it was serious enough for him to step out of his role and play pretend he was the AG, and Comey using a phony reason for halting the investigaton of Clinton citing ‘intent’ which is NOT an element of any National Security crime and memo leaking possibly.
But what the open session DID do is point a fingeer straight at the Loretta Lynch, Yates, their staffs, the DNC and it’s staff, the DNC’s Campaign Commitee and it’s staff, Clintons Campaign Committee and it’s staff, and her personal staff as Sec State and at the location of the server and it’ s installation .
In short Comey got to attempt to make himself look good but the main goal of what I see as revenge directed at the pathway I laid out above and a way to ensure Mueller had enough reason and direction to follow that line of enquiry.
He’ll get a good book deal and some paid speeches but no one will make him head of their police department or hire him as their attorney..
The main price to be paid is at the end of the trail Comey brouoght into the arena of publick knowledge. where it should have been all along. Known criminal activity with zero defense.
Whose going to be first on those staffs to turn states evidence in exchange for immunity?
What I see barring something coming out that’s classified is not a nothing burger but nothing except for the trail to Lynch and Clinton.
As for the memo leak at what point did they become official government documents and attain a classificationj? When he provided them to a higher authority possibly. That depends on a ruling from Mueller and or the NSA weighing in as it’s their back yard and business. Their may be a protocol involved but as Dershowitz pointed out th Congress gave the power to the NSA under Tittle 50
The way to tell is see how many politicians except those three fruit loop Representatives suddenly do a no comment and distance themselves as fast as they can evade the reporters.And I don’t see their proposal to Congress getting out the hopper.
In any case as I type this the closed hearing should be over ….time for the popcorn.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/us/politics/trump-comey-firing.html
ny times 5/11/17
As a government contractor that has been involved in contract disputes, when our files are impounded it specifically says all notes taken are the property of the government and do not have individual intellectual property rights, and we were explicitly warned that our notes are contract property..
That does not make them classified nor forbid publishing.
Comey gave Trump a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Without the issue of the ‘leak’ regardless of how it is seen, Trump would be seen as more of a ‘lying sack of sh*t’ which he is, without contest the greatest ‘lying sack of sh*t’ ever. Trump would have been seen attempting to obstruct justice, with nothing but blatant lies to defend himself. Now with Comey’s admission, the entire mess gets murkier and harder to define. This is the nature of chaos and Trump is the master of chaos. This would be great if Trump was competent and not mentally unbalanced. Ya can’t make this stuff up.
So the sum total of the left’s big deal really was to obstruct and a nothing with no burger? The sum total is your porgrammers personal opinion or todays opinion from The Party’s Ruling Class to The Collective is ‘seen as a lying sack of Democrats? Tht’s it? No that isn’t it. Now it’s my turn to to post what’s next.
No, I think this guy is the Master of chaos. At least that is what he said on METV:
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C_XQlAatENk/V45VB-BKiFI/AAAAAAAAYzY/Yyx0qe29IdIDBz8guKgJQhsOga82K3ZiACLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-07-19%2Bat%2B9.27.29%2BAM.png
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Comey has confidence that although it might take awhile, Mueller will get his man.
Another one I just did:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DB0lkLJVoAA8MQ1.jpg
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
I have a feeling that those massive bags, under Comey’s eyes, are gonna get a whole lot bigger and puffyer before this thing ever ends. At 56 years of age, he could easily pass for an individual a decade older. Obviously, the stress and strain have taken their toll.
Puffier. . .
The strain has taken its toll but he could take POTUS’s option. He could medicate with food and gain 100 ponds and apply orange spray to cover the bags.
Wouldn’t the private conversation between the head of the FBI and the President at a minimum be subject to executive privilege? I’m not an expert on the subject, but I would think it would be. If so, the President is the owner of the privilege, and gets to decide whether the communications involved can be disclosed or not. Since the President didnt authorize this leak, if executive privilege applies to these communications Comey should be disbarred.
Yes. But Trump voluntarily chose not to exercise that privilege.
If a GOP President exercises the privilege, it just pours gasoline on the fire.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/when-presidents-invoke-executive-privilege/
President Trump made the decision not to invoke executive privilege recently, well after Comey had already leaked the substance of the conversations to the NY Times. Because of Comey’s unauthorized leaks, the President never really had a choice in the matter as the cat was already out of the bag.
Professor Turley
I find this whole circus disturbing, to say the least. First, Dirctor Comey states that the former AG Lynch, DIRECTED him to move from an investigation of Clinton to a “manner”. Second, the DEEP States’ hatred of Trump is so imbeded that they would even resort to a soft coup; should freighten anyone (including liberals, conservatives and moderates) because it says that no one is safe outside the chosen few.
As a constitutional expert, doesn’t this really worry you? Doesn’t this look like we are either heading toward a civil war or a dictatorship run by the chosen elite? This testimony today has really shaken my confidence in the rule of law and what the elite would do to hold onto power. We should be very terrified!!!
Did the deep state instigate the impeachment of Bill Clinton or was abuse of power pertinent to him and not to Trump?
If President Trump commits perjury during a deposition (or any other proceeding where he is testifying under oath), he should be impeached. If a low level police officer would be fired for perjuring himself on the witness stand (and he would be), so should the chief law enforcement officer of our country. But unlike President Clinton, I am not aware of President Trump ever doing that.
One of the articles used in the Clinton impeachment involved the abuse of power.
Yes that was when he directed white house staff to lie in an investigation….if Trump did that then he should go down
If President Trump commits perjury during a deposition (or any other proceeding where he is testifying under oath), he should be impeached.
Waal, some of us suggested that 19 years ago. We were told we were unsophisticated (or worse) by the cognoscenti.
I cannot figure out why I have this idea in my head that progtrash have no moral or ethical principles, just improvisation to meet the imperatives of the moment.
Bill Clinton was Impeached by the House of Representatives based on a report by Ken Starr, a prosecutor appointed by and who reported to an Appellant Court. Starr’s charter, the Arkansas corruption case, led to convictions of others after which he asked the court to excuse him, although he had discovered Clinton’s sexual perversions with a WH intern. The court ordered him to reluctantly continue. Bill Clinton lied under oath in this matter which led to his Impeachment, and later loss of his license to practice law.
Trump has broken no law, per the FBI investigation.
These are dissimilar situations.
is it not clear by now that the “problem” for the USA is that the current value, moral and political differences are permanently “intractable” in the population and not available to solution in the usual way of political compromise? This is convincing evidence that it’s unlikely that anybody is going to “unify” the country. The basic moral and value differences in the current divided US population are simply too great. It was always quite predictable that the election winner — either Clinton or Trump — would face a crisis of legitimacy, as the losers would regard the government not just as opponents, but as enemies and occupiers. This is likely to get worse in terms of conflict in the USA. For those who don’t have their heads in the sand, this is similar to the 1860 period leading up to the civil war. As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, “Listen to me now and believe me later”.
That was Hans from Hans and Franz. True they were loosely based on Arnold, but he never said that.
A very strong argument for a smaller, less powerful government–similar to the one our Founders made. The bigger our government gets, the less significant ordinary people become.
Thank you, Dr. Truth, for stating so well what has been running through my mind today.
And yes, we should be terrified.
Fired FBI Dir. Comey met with the President by virtue of his position as the head of an agency of the Executive Branch. They are obviously not pals. This was a business dinner.
His memorializing of it – on a government computer – underscores his recognition of this fact. No one memorializes social dinners. His cognition of the official nature of their discussion is further evidenced by his discussion of it with colleagues in the context of a business meeting, AND How. They. Should. Handle it.
Any serious person recognizes the obvious. The conversation was business, it was privileged, and the memo, drafted on a government computer and shared with government colleagues during a business meeting, was government work-product.
Mr. Comey’s actions were unethical, underhanded, and, upon leaking the official government documents, illegal. Mr. Comey better lawyer-up.
Another flagrant lapse in Comey’s judgment.
Why did Trump ask everyone else to leave the room?
Who cares? He can speak privately to whomever he cares to. Thin reed to rest your suspicion upon.
No one memorializes social dinners.
Not unless they’re diarists of a sort you seldom see today. See Arthur Inman.
Certainly an irony in the case.
What has Comey said about other leakers like Snowden or Manning or elsewhere at the FBI?
I remember Jim Comey saying that after he left the meeting with Pres.Trump at Trump Tower he wrote on his FBI classified laptop his notes of the meeting. I would think that would be the property of the government and shouldn’t be leaked to the press or his friend. Anyone with common sense would know that.
Apparently not enough common sense. Not everything recorded on a classified laptop needs to be classified. Actual common sense knows that the contents of any private conversation with the president can only be classified if the president himself asserts executive privilege during the conversation. President Trump has also spoken openly and publicly about his private conversations with Comey, so no executive privilege exists here. Even further common sense knows that a former director of the FBI knows full-well if the actions he’s taking are illegal or not and never would admit knowingly illegal activity under oath.