UNITED STATES—It’s probably the biggest news story of the week, well the past 7 days to be honest. I had planned to talk about this issue last week, but I decided to let things simmer a bit and really take in what has transpired. However, the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump has everyone, and I mean everyone talking people.
Comey was fired by Trump on May 9, which has the Democrats in uproar, some Republicans in uproar, political pundits talking and plenty of Americans scratching their heads. Now, this is the guy who led the investigation into 2016 Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton. That investigation rather you want to believe it or not, did have some sort of impact on the election results. It placed doubt and raised questions to some Americans about the level of trust with Mrs. Clinton.
After the investigation was initially closed, less than 2 weeks before the November 2016 election Comey re-opened the case noting some new details had come forward. It was later revealed those details were a farce and nothing impactful was discovered. However, I want to put aside that notion at the moment and really discuss the issue with Comey, President Trump and America.
One would believe if Clinton was elected into office, she would have fired Comey and many might have argued it was justified. However, what many people should understand is that the position as FBI Director is a tenured position; it’s a position held for 10 years. And I’ve heard plenty of discussions regarding this being a good thing because it takes out the political mess that could come with individuals being appointed by this party or that party.
At this point, so many people are automatically assuming what Trump has done is quite suspect. In my personal opinion it is indeed suspect. Conflict stories don’t help the situation. On one hand, Trump announced Comey was fired after a recommendation he received, then he does an interview noting it was HIS decision to fire Comey. So what was it? Did you fire Comey because you were recommended to do so or because it was something you planned to do all along?
The timing is what concerns me more than anything. Why? Comey was investigating Trump’s campaign having possible ties to Russia. Not only had Comey previously spoke about the investigation during Senate hearings. What is more disturbing is the notion that Comey was set to speak about the investigation. So it raises the perennial question: was Comey fired because he was getting too close to the truth? That is a question that many Americans would have to ask themselves.
Personally speaking, if Trump lost confidence in Comey because of mistakes during his tenure as FBI Director (he only served a little over 3 years of his 10-year tenure), why not fire him immediately after you assumed office. The inauguration was on January 20, if you planned to let Comey go all along, you would have fired him on January 21, not May 9; I mean that is nearly 4 months after you have taken office. This is where I have a concern with Trump, the timing is no coincidence in my opinion; too many red flags have popped up in my opinion.
Now Trump, his campaign and the Republicans are going to endure a firestorm from the media about this issue. Things have to be explained, as nothing is making sense and nothing is adding up. What’s worse? Comey no longer works for the United States of America, or the FBI. That means he’s free to speak and say whatever he likes. I do believe Comey is going to speak and the question of the hour will be: what he knows, when did he find out and could we see a battle royale emerge between Comey and President Trump.
