rooster59 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Will Trump block Comey testimony? White House does not know yet By Susan Heavey FILE PHOTO: FBI Director James Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee hearing into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House officials said on Friday they did not know yet whether President Donald Trump would seek to block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to Congress next week, a move that could spark a political backlash. "I have not spoken to counsel yet. I don't know how they're going to respond," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters. Comey was leading a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged Russian meddling in last year's U.S. presidential election and possible collusion by Trump's campaign when the president fired him last month. Critics have charged that Trump was seeking to hinder the FBI's investigation by dismissing Comey. The former FBI chief is due to testify on Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its own Russia-related investigation, and his remarks could cause problems for the Republican president. Comey is widely expected to be asked about conversations in which the president reportedly pressured him to drop an investigation into Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, whose ties to Russia are under scrutiny. Critics have said that such pressure could potentially amount to obstruction of justice. Presidents can assert executive privilege to prevent government employees from sharing information. However, legal experts say it is not clear whether certain conversations between Trump and Comey that the president has talked about publicly would be covered, and any effort to block Comey, who is now a private citizen, from testifying could be challenged in court. Democratic lawmakers sent White House counsel Donald McGahn a letter warning that invoking executive privilege "would be seen as an effort to obstruct the truth from both Congress and the American people." In an interview with ABC News, White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared to indicate the president would allow Comey to testify. "We'll be watching with the rest of the world when Director Comey testifies," she said. But asked directly whether Trump would invoke executive privilege on Comey's testimony, she added: "The president will make that decision." Amid a political firestorm touched off by Comey's firing, the Justice Department appointed a special counsel last month to take the lead on the Russia investigation. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the Russian government sought to influence the U.S. election in Trump's favor, a charge Russia has denied. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said on Thursday some Russians may have acted on their own. Trump, who has raised doubts about the U.S. agencies' findings and denounced the continuing Russia probes, has denied any collusion. -- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Has Trump himself indicated that he will block Comey's testimony? I don't see that in the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laza 45 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 From what I've read ... because Trump has already spoken publicly about his conversations with Comey he has lost executive privileged.. if he tries to claim exec privileged it would go to the Supreme Court where it would most likely be disallowed because of said public comment... we shall see.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksidedog Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I suspect many changes of underwear will be occurring in the Trump household over the next few days.Could be very difficult to come up with a fake news spin on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomwct Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 (edited) I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. Edited June 3, 2017 by tomwct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moon0205 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 49 minutes ago, tomwct said: I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. OMG! here they come again, walking blind and uninformed through their small world. Just repeating their leader's lies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said: Has Trump himself indicated that he will block Comey's testimony? I don't see that in the OP. creative journalism of the left i believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 (edited) 5 minutes ago, wombat said: creative journalism of the left i believe. Hardly. The item merely accurately reports that Spicer does not know either way which means it could go either way. Not creative at all. FACT. Edited June 3, 2017 by Jingthing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclag Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. I agree with you but you must extend the corruption time line for both dem,s and Gop Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laza 45 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 40 minutes ago, moon0205 said: OMG! here they come again, walking blind and uninformed through their small world. Just repeating their leader's lies. What these guys don't seem to realize is that Trump and his buddies are the swamp.. do they really think that giving tax breaks to billionaires... cutting medicare for 23 million people .. closing the borders so that they don't have any say in what China is doing.. or what the rest of the world is trying to do to save our planet for disastrous climate change is a good thing?? Ignorance may be bliss.. but it is very dangerous.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupatria Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 42 minutes ago, moon0205 said: God Bless President Trump! I consider all reports of blessings from a virtual friend as signally fake news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanrchase Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. Any possibility of you giving us any numbers for how often Obama used executive privilege? Is it something you heard? Are lots of people saying it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulwell53 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 2 hours ago, tomwct said: I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. Comey has ruined the reputation of the fbi by being sacked by a proven liar. Yes you are spot on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smotherb Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said: Has Trump himself indicated that he will block Comey's testimony? I don't see that in the OP. Gee, I wonder who is supposedly in charge of the White House--if the WH does attempt to block Comey's testimony what possible reason other than guilt could there be? That is precisely why every patriotic American should demand to know the truth. Let the investigation prove Trump's innocence, if he is--that will be the only way to stop the naysayers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smotherb Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 5 hours ago, tomwct said: I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. Oh please, do some research from reputable sources before you run your mouth. Obama averaged fewest executive orders since Cleveland | Pew ... www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/23/obama-executive-orders/ Jan 23, 2017 - Obama, Bush and Bill Clinton, for instance, all used executive orders most frequently to make changes related to government commissions, ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smotherb Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 4 hours ago, wombat said: creative journalism of the left i believe. Jesus, you Trumpets are thick--Sean Spicer himself said he did not know if it would be done; that was what was reported; where is the left creative journalism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish monger Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 9 hours ago, Laza 45 said: From what I've read ... because Trump has already spoken publicly about his conversations with Comey he has lost executive privileged.. if he tries to claim exec privileged it would go to the Supreme Court where it would most likely be disallowed because of said public comment... we shall see.. Comey doesn't work for the US government any more. He is now a private citizen so trump can't tell Comey anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish monger Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 8 hours ago, tomwct said: I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. Excuse me BUT....! Comey is now a private citizen so all that executive privilege crap is off the table. trump has no control over Comey or anything he has to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler19491 Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 17 hours ago, tomwct said: I would! Obama used Executive Privilege all the time and this guy Comey is a has been. He's ruined the reputation of the FBI with the Hillary "so called" investigation, which ended before it started. Let Muehler do his job, which is to investigate the Russians, but will end up investigating the corrupt unmasking of the Obama Administration, which Comey was part of.Washington "The Swamp" has been corrupted the past eight years, it will take President Trump his full eight years to cleanup. God Bless President Trump! Good Job on climate change. No need to pay World Welfare for a phony treaty. France and Germany could pay this welfare with a blink of the eye since they haven't paid their dues for NATO for the past 20 years. Fake news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 12 hours ago, smotherb said: Oh please, do some research from reputable sources before you run your mouth. Obama averaged fewest executive orders since Cleveland | Pew ... www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/23/obama-executive-orders/ Jan 23, 2017 - Obama, Bush and Bill Clinton, for instance, all used executive orders most frequently to make changes related to government commissions, ... executive order is not the same as executive privilege. that said, i dont think obama used either very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 12 hours ago, smotherb said: Jesus, you Trumpets are thick--Sean Spicer himself said he did not know if it would be done; that was what was reported; where is the left creative journalism I believe he was referring to the OP. Injecting a supposition that Trump would block Comey from speaking when there was nothing out there to suppose he would. The latest that I saw about it is that the W H has said that Trump will probably NOT block Comey, so why don't we all calm down and have a till after the hearing and we will know for sure if he's blocked or not, rather than running around like Chicken little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 I note that a number of members are continuing to label items as Fake News. An opinion is not fake news; because a member disagrees with something does not make it Fake News. Continuing to make such false accusations will result in suspensions. Feel free to discuss the points, but keep the discussion on topic and civil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smotherb Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 1 hour ago, buick said: executive order is not the same as executive privilege. that said, i dont think obama used either very often. buick; thank you for correcting me. I googled "pew research on Obamas use of executive privilege" and that executive order citation came up and I used it without noticing the difference . However, I believe you are also right that Obama's one use of executive privilege in the DOJ ATF Fast and Furious fiasco was less than Billy's 14 uses and W's six uses and of course much less controversial than Nixon's uses and Obama did not use it to defend himself as Trump's WH has suggested they may do; so there is quite a bit of difference. http://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/17148/Wiles%2C Samuel.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smotherb Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said: I believe he was referring to the OP. Injecting a supposition that Trump would block Comey from speaking when there was nothing out there to suppose he would. The latest that I saw about it is that the W H has said that Trump will probably NOT block Comey, so why don't we all calm down and have a till after the hearing and we will know for sure if he's blocked or not, rather than running around like Chicken little. I made that comment in response to wombat’s post which said. “creative journalism of the left i believe.” He made his response to your post which said, “Has Trump himself indicated that he will block Comey's testimony? I don't see that in the OP.” The OP actually said, “White House officials said on Friday they did not know yet whether President Donald Trump would seek to block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to Congress next week . . .” There was nothing out there, you say? Take a look at these citations in addition to the OP--certainly , the Trumpets will cry "fake news" for the CNN citation, but the supposition of the WH blocking Comey is also from Spicer, Fox News, Reuters and, as you see, several others. I suggest that the WH will likely not try to suppress Comey's testimony through use of executive privilege because it would simply add more credence to the opinions of many that Trumps was colluding with the Ruskies. Again, I am at a loss to explain how any patriotic American would not want to know the truth about these Russian and Trump people collusion allegations. Can you offer a decent explanation why Trump would not want to see the investigation go through without interference? For you see, Trump may think the sky is falling. Will Trump block Comey testimony? White House does not know yet ... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKBN18T1WZ 1 day ago - ... to block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to Congress ... however, said on Thursday some Russians may have acted on their ... Can Trump block Comey from testifying? - CNNPolitics.com www.cnn.com/2017/06/02/politics/trump-james-comey-executive.../index.html 1 day ago - Trump may try to block Comey testimony ... Spicer mum on WH invoking executive privilege ... Will Trump keep Comey from testifying? White House weighs blocking Comey's testimony | TheHill thehill.com/homenews/.../336142-white-house-weighs-blocking-comeys-testimony 18 hours ago - White House weighs blocking Comey's testimony ... In his May 9 letter informing Comey of his firing, Trump wrote that the FBI director informed ... Comey Expected to Testify Before Senate, if He Isn't Blocked - The ... https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/us/.../james-comey-testify-trump-russia-fbi.html 3 days ago - Trump Appears Unlikely to Hinder Comey's Testimony About Russia ... 'Nut Job' Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation MAY 19, 2017 ... White House won't stop James Comey from testifying in Senate ... www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Americas › US politics 12 hours ago - Donald Trump isn't planning on trying to use his presidential powers to attempt to prevent former FBI James Comey from testifying before ... Trump Is Deciding Whether to Block Comey's Testimony, Says ... fortune.com/2017/06/02/james-comey-testimony-donald-trump/ 1 day ago - President Trump will decide whether to block former FBI Director James ... Trump fired Comey on May 9, prompting a political firestorm and ... Spicer doesn't rule out WH trying to block Comey from testifying | Fox ... www.foxnews.com/.../spicer-doesnt-rule-out-wh-trying-to-block-comey-from-testifying.... 1 day ago - Spicer doesn't rule out WH trying to block Comey from testifying. Brooke Singman ... Should Trump use his executive privilege to block Comey? White House Press ... Sponsored Stories You May Like. A Guaranteed Way To ... Could Comey testimony be blocked by executive privilege? - ABC News abcnews.go.com/Politics/comey-testimony-blocked-executive-privilege/story?id... 2 days ago - But Trump could try to block Comey from testifying about their ... For example, in a May 9 letter telling Comey that he was fired, Trump wrote: “. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 3 hours ago, smotherb said: Again, I am at a loss to explain how any patriotic American would not want to know the truth about these Russian and Trump people collusion allegations. Can you offer a decent explanation why Trump would not want to see the investigation go through without interference? For you see, Trump may think the sky is falling. I'm would assume most patriotic Americans would want to know the truth. Far as I know, there has been no demonstration by people from middle America demanding an end to the investigation. I am not aware of any statement from Trump saying he wants the investigation stopped. Even if he questions the motive for setting it up, that is different to trying to stop it. As for firing Comey, who believes that he was actually doing the investigation? The director of a department does not get involved in the business of the department. The FBI is a large organization with thousands of employees and thousands of investigations, and requires oversight, not meddling by management. To believe that Comey was "involved" in the investigation would be like saying the matron of a large hospital is involved in taking patients to the bathroom. Comey's firing made no difference, IMO, to the investigation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMA_FARANG Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 If he does attempt it, the question is does such "obstruction of Justice," constitute the High Crimes and Misdominers (spelling?) as specified in an impeachment indictment. I am not a lawyer, and I don't know. but I would say yes it does in my unofficial opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 2 minutes ago, IMA_FARANG said: If he does attempt it, the question is does such "obstruction of Justice," constitute the High Crimes and Misdominers (spelling?) as specified in an impeachment indictment. I am not a lawyer, and I don't know. but I would say yes it does in my unofficial opinion. As neither Trump nor his team have said that he will stop Comey speaking, perhaps we should wait and see. However, should Trump do so, it would just be a huge gift to his opponents. If it is within the president's right to do so ( and that would be the only way he could stop Comey speaking ) it would NOT be a high crime or misdemeanor. It would be very foolish to do so, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenl Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 32 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said: I'm would assume most patriotic Americans would want to know the truth. Far as I know, there has been no demonstration by people from middle America demanding an end to the investigation. I am not aware of any statement from Trump saying he wants the investigation stopped. Even if he questions the motive for setting it up, that is different to trying to stop it. As for firing Comey, who believes that he was actually doing the investigation? The director of a department does not get involved in the business of the department. The FBI is a large organization with thousands of employees and thousands of investigations, and requires oversight, not meddling by management. To believe that Comey was "involved" in the investigation would be like saying the matron of a large hospital is involved in taking patients to the bathroom. Comey's firing made no difference, IMO, to the investigation. Nice comparison. Firing the matron of large hospital over the bathroom practices could affect those practises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) 7 minutes ago, stevenl said: Nice comparison. Firing the matron of large hospital over the bathroom practices could affect those practises. Your statement is preposterous. I take it you have never worked as a nurse in a hospital, but bathroom practices are not set by matron. If she was fired, it wouldn't be over bathroom practices and nothing in that respect would change if she was. Edited June 4, 2017 by thaibeachlovers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilostmypassword Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 18 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said: As neither Trump nor his team have said that he will stop Comey speaking, perhaps we should wait and see. However, should Trump do so, it would just be a huge gift to his opponents. If it is within the president's right to do so ( and that would be the only way he could stop Comey speaking ) it would NOT be a high crime or misdemeanor. It would be very foolish to do so, though. We do know that he lied about his reasons for firing Comey in the dismissal letter he sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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