Trump Survives Comey
So here’s what we know after fired FBI director James Comey testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee today.
We know that President Trump will still be President Trump – perhaps for a long time — because Comey had no smoking gun showing that Trump colluded with the Russians during last year’s presidential campaign.
We know that Comey believes the president inappropriately interfered with the FBI’s investigation – but Comey admitted the president never directly asked him to drop it. Comey also declined to say whether he thought Trump obstructed justice or colluded with Russia.
We know that Comey thinks Trump is a liar and that Trump and his people tried to defame him and the FBI.
We know that Comey is absolutely certain that the Russians interfered with last year’s elections – something Trump has continually denied or downplayed.
We also know that Comey was so disturbed by how Trump fired him that he — Comey — set into motion a leak to the New York Times about it. Comey was a private citizen then — having been fired — so he did not believe he was violating any laws.
So where does all this leave us?
It leaves us with a damaged but not destroyed President Trump. James Comey did not provide any evidence that could or should lead to Trump’s impeachment and removal from office. But congressional investigations into Trump and his people will continue — as well the special counsel’s investigation.
It leaves us with a president who likely cannot get anything done in the way of tax reform or health care or infrastructure.
It leaves us with a president who has no idea how to govern – a president who cannot control his outrageous statements and tweets – and a president who still has a core base of anti-government supporters who love everything he says or does.
Yep. We’re crippled politically in this country – but that’s okay with Trump’s backers. After all, they elected him to blow things up politically and fight with that nasty news media that continues to report bad things about their president.