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In typical leftist fashion, former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is refusing to take responsibility for his firing from the FBI. But amidst all his wailing and gnashing of teeth, Mr. McCabe has managed to finger his old buddy James Comey as a liar. All this comes on the cusp of Comey’s book which is set to be released soon. This slip of the lip on McCabe’s part stands to overshadow any shred of credibility James Comey has left.
Apropos the moment, Mr. Comey’s book is titled “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership.” Lies, indeed. According to McCabe, he was given the go-ahead to leak information to the media and even went so far as to say he had the approval to do so by then-Director Comey.
This flies in the face of Comey’s direct testimony in May of 2017, before the Senate Judiciary Committee on FBI oversight:
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA): Director Comey, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?
Director Comey: Never.
Grassley: Question two, relatively related, have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?
Director Comey: No.
In the words of Tennessee Williams, “The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite.” At this point, this simple saying appears to describe Mr. Comey to a T. Should McCabe be telling the truth, Comey is on the hook for lying to Congress.
Any way you look at this somebody here is a liar.
Lies, Damn Lies, and the FBI
Now there are some out there who are trying to parse words. Specifically, McCabe said that he “chose to share with a reporter” and that, “others, including the director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter.” The word in question here is “interaction.” Jonathan Turley wrote the following for The Hill: “If the “interaction” means leaking the information, then McCabe’s statement would seem to directly contradict statements Comey made in a May 2017 congressional hearing.”
Really, Mr. Turley? Are we now going to discuss, in the words of Bill Clinton, the meaning of “is?” If “interaction” doesn’t mean talking to or leaking information to a reporter, just what was McCabe doing: Offering to have him over to the house for a martini and a cigar? (We musn’t be too harsh on Mr. Turley however as his assessment regarding the McCabe/Comey affair is relatively objective.)
Logic – and this seems to be missing from many on the left – dictates, that McCabe was referring to leaking information to a reporter. On balance, it would seem McCabe is telling the truth here. Not because he’s such a fine, upstanding fellow, but because he’s trying to save his own rear end. Throwing someone else under the bus is job one when you are trying to squirm your way out of a hole. And Mr. McCabe’s reputation is currently in a crater.
The question now is: How will Comey manage to squirm out of this one? He was pretty dog-gone emphatic when Senator Grassley asked him two direct questions about leaks to the press. There’s not a lot of wiggle room here. But in the continuing saga of the FBI looking and acting like a partisan political organization instead of the country’s top law enforcement agency, there seems to be no one left who is willing to disclose the truth.
Since McCabe blew the whistle and put Comey in the hot seat –the ball is now in Comey’s court to rebut this damning statement. Thus, Mr. Comey now must scratch and claw his way out of one heck of a mess or he could land in prison for up to five years. Who knows, perhaps he could go on a Correctional Institution book tour?
