The Patriot Post® · More Comey Leaks?

By Gary Bauer ·
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/49627-more-comey-leaks-2017-06-14

As we have previously noted, the biggest bombshell to come out of Comey’s testimony last week was his matter of fact disclosure that he was the source of a New York Times story claiming that President Trump pressured him to shut down the investigation of Mike Flynn, who, by the way, had already been fired.

Even more extraordinary, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he took the extraordinary step of giving a government memo he wrote to a Columbia University professor. The professor then gave it to The New York Times because Comey wanted to create a controversy that would lead to the appointment of a special counsel.

In that endeavor, Comey was successful.

On May 16th, The New York Times printed a story by Michael Schmidt alleging inappropriate presidential interference in the Flynn investigation. Schmidt’s reporting was based on Comey’s memo. The next day, May 17th, former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel.

Are we to believe that this Comey manipulation — using a professor and The New York Times — was an isolated event, something that Comey had never done before?

President Trump doesn’t think so. He tweeted Sunday, “I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very ‘cowardly!’”

The president may be on to something.

There appears to be strong circumstantial evidence that Comey has been part of the deep state’s efforts to disrupt and destroy the Trump-Pence administration. A Fox News analysis of New York Times reporting over the past six months discovered multiple stories, including several written by Schmidt, which portrayed President Trump in a negative light and which presented Comey as a choir boy.

All during this time, Republican senators were frustrated by Comey’s seeming lack of interest in investigating criminal leaks during the early months of the Trump administration. Little did they know that they may have been asking Comey to investigate himself!

From Comey to Mueller

Not only did Comey’s collusion with a Columbia professor and The New York Times result in the appointment of a special counsel, but the special counsel selected was Robert Mueller. As it turns out, Mueller mentored Comey during their years at the FBI.

I reported yesterday that Mueller has been hiring high-powered criminal attorneys, some known for their aggressive prosecutions. Now we are learning that one of the attorneys he hired is Jeannie Rhee. One of the items on her resume is that she shut down Freedom of Information requests for the Clinton Foundation in 2015.

In addition, three of the five lawyers Mueller has hired have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrat candidates, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Think about this for a moment.

Democrats and their left-wing media allies, joined by some Republicans, say that we needed a special counsel because the country couldn’t trust Trump appointees at the Justice Department to conduct a fair investigation. But the supposedly neutral team put together by the special counsel is loaded with partisans who despise Trump. There is something deeply wrong with this situation.

Newt Gingrich predicted Monday that the Mueller investigation will likely devolve into a witch hunt.

Julius Trump

A New York Shakespeare theater group is performing Julius Caesar with a modern twist — Donald Trump is Caesar. As you may recall from history or literature classes, things don’t end well for Caesar, who was assassinated by several “friends.”

This Trump assassination fantasy is so over-the-top that it has been shedding corporate sponsors. But plenty of people on the Left love it. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria called the play “brilliantly interpreted” and “a masterpiece.”

When Delta and Bank of America withdrew their sponsorships, House of Cards creator Beau Willimon tweeted, “Disappointed in @Delta for turning its back on free expression. I’ve flown many thousands of miles with you. No more.” Actor Ron Perlman urged fans to boycott both companies, tweeting, “Act accordingly.”

The theater putting on this disgusting play also receives taxpayer money, courtesy of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested it was “very dangerous” for the “public sector” to interfere with culture. I guess it’s not dangerous to stoke assassination fantasies against the president.

By the way, the tolerant Left seems to have a sick obsession with killing Republican presidents. A 2006 film about George W. Bush’s assassination won an award. For some reason, I can’t recall the name of the play or movie about Obama being assassinated. I’m sure there must be one. [Sarcasm alert.]

From representations of Donald Trump’s severed head by a comedian to Shakespearian actors portraying Trump’s assassination before delighted crowds, countless disturbed people in our country are being exposed to images that increase the odds of a real assassination. Don’t forget, Trump has already faced at least one known attempt against his life.

Any decent American — liberal, moderate or conservative — should condemn this disgusting trend. We should all pray for the safety of the president, the vice president, their families and the dedicated men and women who work for them.

Sessions Speaks

As we are finishing up this report, we are watching Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It has been unremarkable testimony so far. Here are some initial observations:

The attorney general said it was a “detestable and appalling lie” to suggest that he in any way colluded with Russia. Sessions said that he never saw anything or was aware of anyone else doing anything during the campaign that would fit the definition of collusion.

Sessions made it absolutely clear that he and others believed the FBI needed new leadership, and that Comey’s unilateral decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton was beyond his authority.

Referring to the Oval Office meeting in which Comey says he felt the president pressured him inappropriately, Sessions said that Comey did express concerns, but he did not tell Sessions or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that anything inappropriate had happened. Absent specific details of the conversation, Sessions said that he urged Comey to follow “proper guidelines” about communicating with the White House.

Nothing appears unusual. Jeff Sessions’ dignified performance before the committee should assure every American that we have a principled attorney general.