UPDATE 12:45PM: Ernest Luning reports on the response from a handful of Colorado Members of Congress in a story for the publication formally known as the Colorado Statesman.
—–
UPDATE 11:40AM: The Denver Post declares President Donald Trump’s credibility “in tatters” after Comey’s testimony:
Even if Trump isn’t implicated in colluding with the Russians, even if none of his campaign staffers are found guilty, Comey’s sworn testimony and the known facts about his firing cripple the president’s credibility.
Comey’s testimony portrays a president who only cares about loyalty to himself, and not loyalty to all Americans. By repeatedly pressuring the then director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to swear allegiance to him, Trump betrayed America. He never reversed this error, and kept up talking about the necessity of personal loyalty with Comey all the way up unto his firing.
Trump denies everything, of course. But who can believe him? He’s proven himself wonderfully skilled at telling lies.
—–
UPDATE 11:00 am: The White House decides to go with an “I am not a crook” response. From The Hill:
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that President Trump is “not a liar” hours after ousted FBI Director James Comey said the president had lied about the FBI.
“I can definitively say the president is not a liar,” Sanders told reporters during an off-camera briefing at the White House. “I think it is frankly insulting that question would be asked.”…
…Comey began his highly anticipated testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee by telling the panel that the president had defamed him by saying that the FBI was in disarray under his leadership.
“The administration chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly run,” Comey told a rapt hearing room.
“Those were lies, plain and simple,” he said.
—–
UPDATE 10:42 am: The Senate Intelligence Committee has wrapped up Comey’s public testimony and will immediately reconvene for a confidential hearing with the former FBI Director.
—–
From CNN:
In the first hour of former FBI Director James Comey testimony on Capitol Hill about the nature and details of his relationship with President Donald Trump, he’s already called the president a “liar” twice.
In his opening remarks, Comey flashed anger at Trump’s characterization of him as unpopular among the rank and file of the FBI as well as the idea that the bureau was disorganized and chaotic.
“Those were lies. Plan and simple,” Comey said flatly.
Then, when asked by Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) why he felt the need to document his meetings with Trump when he didn’t do the same with past presidents, Comey responded: “I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting.”
Stop. Go back and read those two quotes again.
What you see there is a former FBI director not once but twice calling the president a liar — and acknowledging that his concerns about Trump’s willingness to bend (or break) the truth led him to repeatedly document their interactions.
That’s stunning stuff.
—–
The former Director of the FBI has now repeatedly expressed concerns that Donald Trump and his administration are liars.
— David Chalian (@DavidChalian) June 8, 2017
“I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting,” says Comey, asked why he wrote memo after meeting with Trump
— Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff) June 8, 2017
“The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI…those were lies, plain and simple.” Comey
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 8, 2017
Q: Do you have any doubt the Russian government interfered in the U.S. election?
Comey: No. https://t.co/jo781YX2WM— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) June 8, 2017
We’re working on updates while we pick our jaws up off the floor, stand by.
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Any bets on when the tweet storm starts. Little fingers is probably snarling and boiling with all kinds of tweet possibilities. Stay tuned.
"Liar Comey not even a 6 at brest. Neber wanted to be alone wip him – don't swing that way. Fake news. Which hut! Sad. So Sad." @RealDrumpf
"Loser Comey the Liar is low energy. Sad! People are saying I'm the healthiest, most high-energy president ever. Believe me." – @TheRealDonaldDuck
The Big Cheeto himself is not tweeting about Comey's testimony. His son (remember how apolitical and all -business he's supposed to be?) is doing that for him.
DJT, Jr tweeted:
Eric Trump, on the other hand, is focused on covering his own behind, and pushing back against Forbes' magazine investigation about how Trump Organization appropriated money meant to go to a kid's cancer charity. In an interview with Fox's Hannity, Eric said:
The Trump women are not commenting about the Comey hearing.
If I were Melania, I’d be dusting off my pre-nup and looking for the escape clause. If I were Tiffany or Ivanka, I’d be checking into a name change and witness protection program.
Ivanka can always take her husband's name. Although, with her father-in-law's reputation, I'm not sure that's an improvement.
Kushner, I predict, will be the first one Daddy Trump throws under the bus. Ivanka will then have an interesting choice to make.
Kushner certainly met with Russian bankers multiple times, covertly, although for some reason he "can't remember" what they talked about.
Kushner for Trump? Yes, that would be what I would call a lateral transfer.
Doesn't it customarily only occur after dark and they're his best in the early morning hours?
COVFEFE!
Comey is probably off the White House Christmas card list now.
Yes. He's on a much different, far-browner list now.
The thing that stood out to me in the first hour of testimony was the unequivocal response of "No Doubts" to the question "Did Russia interfere with the election?"
If the Russians had been doing everything in their powers to elect Clinton, Republicans would be off the walls with righteous outrage. This is what is so sick about their ideology. Cheating is OK if our side wins.
Comey just said (I'm paraphrasing) that it is his belief that he was fired because of the Russia investigation.
McCain used his time to try to show that there was a "double standard" in the FBI's closing the investigation on HRC's email server, while keeping open the investigation into Trump campaign / Russian collusion. WTF?
Because an exhaustive survey showed no hacking on the server, no security breaches or adverse consequences, while there is documented hacking into DNC, RNC, voter databases, and general propagandizing on social media by Russian operatives, in order to elect their preferred candidate. Exhibit A: the election of Donald J Trump.
The difference between the use of a personal email server and the probable collusion of Trump personnel with Russian spies is the difference between leaving your back door unlocked (Whew! no burglars took advantage!) vs. having a block party til 3 am in which you invite all of the drug dealers, murderers, and rapists to hang out in the street and give them all information on how to get into your neighbor’s houses, how well-protected the houses might be, and where the valuables are.
McCain also called him “President Comey” twice. Wishful thinking?
Exactly — the mail server issue was thoroughly investigated and had run its course. The Russian hacking/influence campaign was(is) an ongoing crime-in-progress with much more ground to cover, and actions required on behalf of Congress, the FBI, DOJ, etc.
And it was Jason Chaffetz who closed the House email investigation after the election along with the Benghazi one.
Further evidence that McCain's cheese is sliding off his cracker? Still bitter over 2008? If he can't get Pres. Obama (for whipping him) he can still pursue Sec. Clinton?
No trolls on this thread today. Usually Moldy gets the first post to try and deflect the discussion.
Cornhole hasn't been here in a while. Wonder if even he sees the writing on the wall and won't defend the indefensible.
Cornholio was simply ordered to lay low for a while by his masters. The indefensible is the only thing he ever defends, but right now, the alt right boys don't want to stir the pot.
Russian bot says, "processing, processing…"
More like ERROR 404
There is no point, liberals have already set the narrative. But the truth is that Trump was not under investigation personally when he fired Comey. At the same time, Comey admitted that he leaked information to the press. If Trump knew that Comey was leaking, firing him was the right thing to do.
Everyone knew Comey was going to slam Trump, and he threw everything he had and then some. It's not enough.
You and I knew there was "no there, there". Even the KOOK,s KOOK, Chris Mathews gave up there was no collusion, no obstruction, no nothing. Poor fringe Pols. Never fear they will believe any thing Rachel Madcow comes up with next. "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming".
When they lose the Georgia special election, June 20, it will be the Russians fault.
I guess you missed the part where Comey was asked point blank if the Russians had attempted to interfere with the United States of America election of 2016 and he said there was no doubt that they did.
Do you get the giggles thinking about how cool it is for a hostile foreign power to attempt to undermine one of the central tenets of our nation?
Seriously do you enjoy having foreign powers interfere with our elections?
I think he does. How do we know pp isn't a Russian puppet.
Damn! You found me out, I am a Russian puppet. I'm sure that now you have made this discovery, believing the media will be so much easier.
The media is already far easier to believe than your leader and all of his followers.
A black russian pear is an heirloom tomato.
But I think this one is the better likeness:
I'd like an honest answer from you for a change.
Do you enjoy having authoritarian foreign governments who despise democracy in their own country interfere in our elections?
It's a simple question.
I guess Pear by not answering gives us his answer.
He is OK with gutting two centuries of free and fair elections and abandoning any pretense of moral character.
He crows about how Republicans will win the Georgia runoff but it has been a Republican safe seat forever. The fact that it is competitive shows that Democrats will compete in every state and district and school board election. There are going to be a lot of contested election where the Republican doesn't start out with a 20 point advantage.
Oh and the person he is rooting to win for the white working man doesn't support a livable wage. That's Republican populism. Way to go Pear. You are a traitor to American values and the average American worker.
Actually, it gives them all little tiny stiffies. They love their dumb, dangerous donnie and his terminal man-crush, vladdie-pute, just that much.
I don't mean to interrupt here and please don't bundle me in the alt right corner of this discussion, however there is a Long history of the U.S. interfering with elections elsewhere that begs the question that if you don't enjoy having foreign powers interfere with our elections, why do we continuously do it to foreign powers?
The chickens have come home to roost.
I don't like it anymore than anyone else, but it is not a unilateral phenomenon. One could suggest they learned it from watching us.
We nuked another country, so peachy-keen if we get nuked?
Who was it that trotted out that chickens line? Some CU prof, right? How'd that turn out?
LOCK HIM UP!!!!
Hush, fools.
ROFL. Well there, there. I'll raise that powerful pair, Powerful Pear, with a powerful pair that actually know WTF they're talking about there . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/opinion/comey-trump-obstruction-of-justice.html
Our Stooges, in unison: "Meh — facts, schmacts. Reality is a highly overrated concept; truth but a fairy-tale illusion created to mollify tree-huggers and pansies. We have the pure moral clarity of carefully selected, artfully tailored ALTERNATIVE FACTS on our side! And when that doesn’t work, we just jam our fingers in our ears and scream, “La La La!"
I prefer to think of Chris Mathews as the boor's boor.
What deep thoughts Moldy. So are you late because your handlers needed more time to come up with your talking points?
If you mean 'not enough' to impeach than you are probably right. If you mean 'not enough' to get an obstruction of justice conviction than probably right again.
If Clinton had done these same things would you be screaming to 'LOCK HER UP'. Amazing how innocence or guilt to you is dependent on the letter behind the name. Unfortunately your response is not enough to reclassify you as an honest human being.
Right. It's not like Comey knew he needed to protect an ongoing investigation. Moldy you don't have a clue how intelligence gathering works.
Hell, he has no clue how his newfangled 1982 Casio digital watch works. And I hear his nifty VCR is still flashing, "12:00 — 12:00 — 12:00."
LOCK HIM UP. LOCK HIM UP. LOCK HIM UP.
You don't know how good you had it under Comey. He didn't want to "remove the cloud" over Trump because he didn't want to be back in the same situation he found himself in with HRC: having to testify in public when Trump did come under investigation to correct the record.
So the Denver Post says:
Just because he tells lots of lies doesn't mean he is skilled at it.
"Practiced," then… and he does deliver his lies with authority. He's only a bad liar because he gives not one whit about the facts he's trying to bury.
"I never said China invented the global warming hoax."
"We're going to have healthcare for everyone, and it's going to be better and cheaper."
The man lies like a dog licks its 'nads.
I have no insight into the internal machinations of the FBI, but to feign insult at the suggestion that her boss has a difficult relationship with the truth truly earns the Huckster that nickname.
Semi-seriously, I'm wondering how Drumpf responds now to this massive flaming covfefe storm . . .
Does he:
Nuke Iran?
Blame it all on Cornholio?
Fire Sessions?
Start divorce proceedings, and offer to marry Putin's hottest daughter?
Convene an emergency damage control meeting this weekend at Mar a Lago, and have the attendees watch him eat ice cream?
Hold a campaign rally in Tulsa?
Flee to Dubai and ask for asylum?
Take healthcare away from 23 million citizens (wait . . . Done. Mission Accomplished!)
Tell the truth? (Ok, that's the funny one — likewise, "lie" is a given, and therefore an unacceptable answer.)
Mike Littwin, as usual, has a pretty interesting take on the situation:
Moldy and Gerbils heartily agree, I'm sure. Trump may be a lying POS, but by golly he's our (Republican) lying POS!
republicreeps ALWAYS stand by their liars. And their thieves. Their grifters, con artists, racists, hypocrites, skinheads, anti-Semites, misogynists, war mongers, draft dodgers, adulterers, child molesters, theocrats, plutocrats, autocrats, and profoundly corrupt wannabe mafia dons (or should I say, Dons).
I'm afraid, DP, that good and evil doesn't fall quite as clearly along party lines as you seem to think.
Republicans benefitted from the Russian interference. There's at least one case of a lower-level GOP candidate allegedly using hacked DNC data… Thry're not going to care until the avalanche is already visibly headed down the mountain toward them.