Self-Righteous Prig

For John, BLUF:  Former FBI Director James Comey abused his authority to satisfy his personal goals, while hiding behind an aura of sanctimony.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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James Comey is proof the ‘deep state’ is something to fear

From The New York Post, by Opinion Writer David Harsanyi (a senior editor at The Federalist), 29 August 2019.

We are talking about disgraceful former FBI Director James Comey.  Here is a Tweet on the topic.

Benjamin Wittes @benjaminwittes · 5h
From famed @Comey apologist @matthewamiller

Matthew Miller @matthewamiller · 5h
This is perhaps the stupidest investigation the IG has ever done, and one of its dumber conclusions.  Talk about fiddling while Rome burns.  https://twitter.com/sgurman/status/1167080394891517952

Here is the article lede plus three:

For nearly three years now, those who promise to save us from the wicked clutches of President Donald Trump have bombarded America with lectures about the “rule of law.”  Yet, over and over again, these self-styled champions of justice feel free to disregard the law whenever it suits them.  The latest example is former FBI Director James Comey.

A new report by the Office of the Inspector General for the Justice Department found that Comey had written FBI memos, illicitly passed them on to a lawyer friend, who in turn leaked them to a friendly New York Times reporter who had been spreading the Russian conspiracy theory.

Why? Because Comey was interested in extracting revenge on the man who had fired him, Donald Trump.

Comey, the report found, had leaked “investigative information, obtained during the course of FBI employment, in order to achieve a personally desired outcome.”

What a jerk.  This is how we get a Junta.  Bluntly, OK maybe in Latin America, but very Unamerican.

Here is how the OpEd ends:

If you want to know why so many Americans believe there’s a “deep state” working against their interests, look no further than men like Comey.  We have growing evidence that senior officials in the FBI and CIA acted as partisan opponents of the duly elected president, abetting and inciting partisan investigations.

Americans will continue to lose trust in institutions, if leaders keep misappropriating power for political purposes.  Comey claimed he leaked his memos because they were of “incredible importance to the Nation, as a whole,” which is what everyone who has ever pursued arbitrary and capricious power says to rationalize their abuse.

I can only hope we realize how wrong this was.

Here is the Althouse Blog view.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff