BI Director James B. Comey was among the senior U.S. officials who had the unpleasant task of traveling to Trump Tower last month to inform the president-elect that Russia had interfered in the election process to help him win office.
Then Comey asked his colleagues — including the CIA director — to step outside so that he could discuss something even more awkward: a dossier in wide circulation in Washington that alleged that Moscow had gathered compromising financial, political and personal material about the incoming U.S. president.
That Comey was asked after that encounter, described by U.S. officials briefed on its details, to stay on as FBI director speaks to his survival instincts and ability to inspire confidence.
The news that Comey would stay in place became public Tuesday, some time after he began informing senior FBI officials around the country that he had been asked to continue.
Under normal circumstances, the revelation might have been unsurprising: Comey is less than four years into a 10-year term, and it is extremely rare for a president to remove an FBI director.
But President Trump had notably declined to say whether he would keep the FBI director, telling “60 Minutes” in an interview after his election that he wanted to meet with Comey first.
Comey has come under fire from both sides of the political aisle in recent months, especially for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Many Democrats still blame him for Clinton’s loss, and his decisions to discuss the probe publicly in the final months of the race are being investigated by the Justice Department inspector general.
His greatest looming challenge, however, will be presiding over ongoing investigations whose dimensions and direction are unclear,
but involve Russia’s hacking and interference in the presidential election as well as nebulous ties between Trump associates and Moscow.
The bureau is also still examining allegations in the dossier that Comey discussed with Trump in New York last month, according to a U.S. official. The document was assembled by a former British intelligence officer who had been hired by a Washington investigations and political research firm.
The contents of the dossier have been in wide circulation among news organizations and law enforcement entities since mid-2016,
but it is unclear if any of its potentially damaging allegations have been substantiated by intelligence agencies.
Comey, former CIA director John Brennan and former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. agreed that they should discuss the dossier with Trump even if the allegations were unproven.
The ensuing conversation came with seemingly unavoidable conflicts. It is not clear whether Comey told Trump that the FBI had or was still pursuing allegations made in the dossier, but doing so would have involved telling an incoming president with significant power over the FBI that his associates were potential investigative targets.
Trump has railed at the decision by the nation’s intelligence chiefs, including Comey, to attach a copy of the dossier to a report released last month by U.S. spy agencies that concluded that Putin had ordered a cyber campaign to disrupt the U.S. election and help Trump.
Trump accused U.S. spy agencies of orchestrating a Nazi-like smear campaign against him. The CIA has been the main target of Trump’s hostility in recent months, but he has also been sharply critical of Comey and the FBI.
Even Justice Department officials had advised against Comey taking the actions he did, and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is investigating Comey’s conduct in the (Clinton Email) case. Comey has said he welcomes the review.
The criticism of Comey, though, is not limited to the Clinton investigation. After a recent closed-door briefing from intelligence officials about Russian hacking, some House Democrats called for Comey to resign. They claimed the FBI director was not treating the Trump-related and Clinton-related investigations the same, particularly in his willingness to discuss the matters publicly.
“He should pack his things and go,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.).
Senate Intelligence Committee leaders have said they will explore for themselves alleged links between Russia and the 2016 political campaigns as part of a wide look at the intelligence community’s report on Russian hacking, and some on the left have called for a special prosecutor to be appointed.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s pick to be attorney general, said in a recent response to a questionnaire that he was “not aware of a basis to recuse myself from such investigations,” though if a “specific matter arose where I believed my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, I would consult with Department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...9ec4b3d09ba_story.html?utm_term=.183677ebfa4a
Then Comey asked his colleagues — including the CIA director — to step outside so that he could discuss something even more awkward: a dossier in wide circulation in Washington that alleged that Moscow had gathered compromising financial, political and personal material about the incoming U.S. president.
That Comey was asked after that encounter, described by U.S. officials briefed on its details, to stay on as FBI director speaks to his survival instincts and ability to inspire confidence.
The news that Comey would stay in place became public Tuesday, some time after he began informing senior FBI officials around the country that he had been asked to continue.
Under normal circumstances, the revelation might have been unsurprising: Comey is less than four years into a 10-year term, and it is extremely rare for a president to remove an FBI director.
But President Trump had notably declined to say whether he would keep the FBI director, telling “60 Minutes” in an interview after his election that he wanted to meet with Comey first.
Comey has come under fire from both sides of the political aisle in recent months, especially for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Many Democrats still blame him for Clinton’s loss, and his decisions to discuss the probe publicly in the final months of the race are being investigated by the Justice Department inspector general.
His greatest looming challenge, however, will be presiding over ongoing investigations whose dimensions and direction are unclear,
but involve Russia’s hacking and interference in the presidential election as well as nebulous ties between Trump associates and Moscow.
The bureau is also still examining allegations in the dossier that Comey discussed with Trump in New York last month, according to a U.S. official. The document was assembled by a former British intelligence officer who had been hired by a Washington investigations and political research firm.
The contents of the dossier have been in wide circulation among news organizations and law enforcement entities since mid-2016,
but it is unclear if any of its potentially damaging allegations have been substantiated by intelligence agencies.
Comey, former CIA director John Brennan and former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. agreed that they should discuss the dossier with Trump even if the allegations were unproven.
The ensuing conversation came with seemingly unavoidable conflicts. It is not clear whether Comey told Trump that the FBI had or was still pursuing allegations made in the dossier, but doing so would have involved telling an incoming president with significant power over the FBI that his associates were potential investigative targets.
Trump has railed at the decision by the nation’s intelligence chiefs, including Comey, to attach a copy of the dossier to a report released last month by U.S. spy agencies that concluded that Putin had ordered a cyber campaign to disrupt the U.S. election and help Trump.
Trump accused U.S. spy agencies of orchestrating a Nazi-like smear campaign against him. The CIA has been the main target of Trump’s hostility in recent months, but he has also been sharply critical of Comey and the FBI.
Even Justice Department officials had advised against Comey taking the actions he did, and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is investigating Comey’s conduct in the (Clinton Email) case. Comey has said he welcomes the review.
The criticism of Comey, though, is not limited to the Clinton investigation. After a recent closed-door briefing from intelligence officials about Russian hacking, some House Democrats called for Comey to resign. They claimed the FBI director was not treating the Trump-related and Clinton-related investigations the same, particularly in his willingness to discuss the matters publicly.
“He should pack his things and go,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.).
Senate Intelligence Committee leaders have said they will explore for themselves alleged links between Russia and the 2016 political campaigns as part of a wide look at the intelligence community’s report on Russian hacking, and some on the left have called for a special prosecutor to be appointed.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s pick to be attorney general, said in a recent response to a questionnaire that he was “not aware of a basis to recuse myself from such investigations,” though if a “specific matter arose where I believed my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, I would consult with Department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...9ec4b3d09ba_story.html?utm_term=.183677ebfa4a
