James Comey’s Self-Induced Troubles | The American Spectator

New York Times: “U.S. Attorney Races to Present Case Against James Comey.”

CNN: “DOJ nearing decision whether to charge former FBI Director James Comey with lying to Congress, sources say.”

And on and on and on and on goes the list of similar headlines.

Not to mention, was this all too memorable headline from The Floridian:

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey could face jail time after investigations were launched into social media messages he recently posted, seemingly calling for the murder of President Donald Trump.

Really? Wow.

Suffice to say, James Comey is headed for history as the only director in FBI history who could himself wind up behind bars. Or as the vernacular goes, spending time in the slammer.

The most notable FBI director, famously, was J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover was the legendary figure who, from 1924 until 1972, served under eight presidents from Calvin Coolidge to Richard Nixon. By the time of President John F. Kennedy’s administration, Hoover had amassed so much power that history has stories about the powerful FBI director keeping JFK and his brother Bobby — JFK’s Attorney General — in line with threats of blackmail over the young president’s alleged womanizing. By the time of his death in 1972 — who died in his sleep while still in office — most of official Washington vowed to rein in the office of the FBI director with term limits to ensure there would be no future FBI directors wielding such massive power.

Over the decades of the history of the FBI, various directors have managed to get into trouble. Some have resigned. But if former Director Comey finds himself behind bars, in his case for lying to Congress, this would be a first.

And not to mention, if in fact proved without the shadow of a doubt, it would be so decidedly avoidable. As to the reasoning of Comey’s alleged behavior, the AP reports:

The Justice Department is preparing to ask a grand jury as soon as Thursday to indict former FBI Director James Comey on allegations that he lied to Congress as prosecutors approach a legal deadline for bringing charges, according to two people familiar with the matter.

… Prosecutors have been evaluating whether Comey lied to lawmakers during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony related to the investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The five-year statute of limitations for bringing a case would be next Tuesday, but the Justice Department is expected to seek an indictment before a grand jury before then, said the two people, who were not authorized to discuss an investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

To boil it all down, if true, Comey indulged his anti-Trump political passions and risked being revealed (at a minimum!) as lying quite deliberately about the alleged ties “between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.”

As someone who has worked at a senior level of a presidential campaign (the 1984 Reagan re-election campaign as chief of staff to campaign co-chair Drew Lewis), doing what Comey is alleged to have done is, bluntly put, blatantly stupid. Playing with illegalities in a highly visible campaign for president is almost certain to end badly. (See: Watergate.) (RELATED: James Comey Warns GOP — For Something Dems Did?)

In short, a person of experience, which Comey was presumed to be, would be assumed to have both known the history of such craziness and learned the lessons of history could only be repeated at a cost, which is prosecution, conviction, and time to be served behind bars. (RELATED: James Comey’s Riddle in the Sand)

In short, keeping a clean record is not that hard to do — unless one has a problem with following the law and the rules.

But clearly, both of those were too hard for Comey. And, if he did it, lying to Congress is one of the most blatant rules out there, which even the greenest young congressional staffer or federal bureaucrat should know.

So. Where does this leave things? If, in fact, James Comey is shortly indicted for lying to Congress, this will be one of the most avoidable things out there in the political world.

Unless, of course, the person charged had at the time an innate inability to control his political passions. This goes to one allegation, including thoughts of murder.

Sheesh.

Whatever happens next in this sad saga of the fall from grace of ex-FBI Director Comey will be revealed soon, it appears from all those headlines.

Stay tuned.

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