Owatonna, MN Correspondent-Ever since Woodward and Bernstein rocked the world with their reporting on Watergate, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, the media seems to consist mostly of opportunists who are looking more to make a name for themselves by breaking a big story instead of being content to simply report the facts. The downside of this constant search for scandal is that any story that hints of cover-up, collusion, or possible criminal activity is over reported, over hyped, and then spun from all sides to either deflect damage or make political hay. This makes it impossible for the average American to know who’s telling the truth on an issue like the Comey firing.
The Right claims that liberal media have been on a crusade to discredit President Trump from day one of his administration. The Left claims it’s their responsibility to investigate any president or associate of the president who may have done something unethical, illegal, or unconstitutional. The Center tries to keep its collective head from spinning too rapidly.
Evidence seems to exist that indicates a Congressional inquiry into the Trump campaign’s relationship with Russia is merited. Comey seems to have either overstepped his authority regarding that issue, or he was doing his job, and Trump was getting nervous about the truth coming out. So yes, a Congressional inquiry is a worthwhile endeavor. Congress needs to man up and assert itself as an equal branch of government by exercising its authority to investigate the executive branch.
Unfortunately, with 24-hour news coverage, any story of national importance usually gets blown out of proportion in relation to its real impact. I keep reminding myself that corporate media in the 21st Century is more entertainment than news, and selling advertising is the ultimate goal of entertainment programming. Since controversy sells ads, media frenzy is pretty much a constant. That aspect of this issue needs to be minimized. Congress stepping in and doing its job by investigating the Comey firing and related issues without media intrusion is the only way to put the story into proper perspective.
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent-The media frenzy and Congressional inquiry into the firing of James Comey can be categorized as both a political witch hunt and an attempt to derail President Trump’s agenda and his administration. Leftwing Democrats in the Congress, along with RINOs as well those in more shielded government careers and Washington bureaucrats have simply refused to give up their gravy train existence and socialistic ideas of governing, which were attained through the last eight years of the Obama administration.
As far as the left is concerned, their witch hunt is a worthwhile effort as they can disrupt and shut down the operation of government through their strategies of unending investigations and other maneuvers to hamper government operations. The firing of James Comey and others they deem as culpable parties, such as Jared Kushner and President Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, who was recently subpoenaed to appear before the House Intelligence Committee, are all fair game in their efforts to obstruct anything Trump related.
Both left wing democrats and RINO’s stymie presidential appointments, halt legislation that doesn’t fit their agenda and continually churn out lies and innuendo to rile and confuse the public and, of course, the media acts in collusion with them as it gobbles up every word of the major players and regurgitates and embellishes on the sound bites and other manipulations of the truth.
Whether or not they know and understand that their day is coming as to the end of their false allegations and continued efforts to stop and overtake the Trump administration, it is hard to say. There will have to be a cutting off point somewhere along the road as their ploys will continue to present difficulties in moving forward in spite of President Trump’s push to remain on track with his agenda.
It will be up to not only the Justice Department but staunch conservatives in Congress to reign in their fellow legislators, whether Republicans, RINO’s, Democrats and left-wing agitators. The dangerous nonsense being purveyed must come to a screeching halt. Responsibility must also lie with the voters to relieve the Congress of troublemakers in the House and Senate in 2018 or through recalls within their own states. The country simply cannot allow legislators to operate against the rule of law and the Constitution through purposed delays, endless investigations, and charges fabricated against those they want to abolish from within the Trump administration.
There is no doubt that the full intent of many in the Congress, media and outside groups is to remove Trump from office and assume their former roles. Until they realize they have lost control and are made to adhere to the law and made accountable, they will continue to disrupt and derail the president’s agenda.
Gastonia, NC Correspondent-James Comey is a good man. Almost everyone who’s ever had personal or professional contact with him will say that. He’s a G-man through and through who Elliot Ness would be proud to call a comrade. He was completely unprepared for Donald Trump’s freewheeling, deal-making, devil take the hindmost approach to governance. Where he once knew rigid code and chains of command, now he was confronted with a president who used Twitter as a tool of command and chose his closest advisers based not on their qualifications, but on how well he’d done business with them.
When Trump demanded Comey’s loyalty, I don’t honestly believe he was trying to get Comey to ignore any wrongdoing or bend the law. He was treating Comey like one of his business associates, someone with whom he’d want to do a billion-dollar deal. It utterly escaped him that Comey might be standing on principles that transcended friendship or allegiance. That’s just not his frame of reference.
However, when it comes to the Michael Flynn affair, I think Trump deserves to be scrutinized, and I think Comey’s refusal to call off the dogs led partly to his firing. Trump asked Comey to drop the matter, to let it go, to abandon his duty as an officer of the law and just “let it go.”
I believe that Trump fired Comey because he wouldn’t play ball, because he wouldn’t sign on and become a member of the Trump club. Comey remained true to his profession and to his ethics, and it cost him his career. I have no doubt that he will find other employment, probably making considerably more than he ever did in government service, but it won’t be fulfilling his true calling. That gangly frame belongs behind the desk at Quantico with the boss’s nameplate on the door.