Is today a good day for President Trump or James Comey?
Politically, Trump may be damaged by innuendo from Comey's interrogation.
Legally, Trump should not be legally damaged.
Politically, Comey may be damaged because if he felt threatened by losing his job from anything Trump said, he should have gone to a higher up in the Justice Department that was in place at the time. Comey may have a vandetta against Trump because of his firing, but that doesn't end the fact that he didn't report that Trump told him to stop any interrogation if this is indeed what Trump wanted.
Legally, comey should be fine. Even the "leak" is not, by definition a "leak" because it was not a government document that was released by his friend.
In the eyes of the public, Comey is depicted as a timid, cowardly FBI Director because if he felt "queasy" about the discussion with Trump, it was his place to tell him that the President 's comments were not appropriate. If he was intimidated, which clearly he was demonstrated by making precise notes on his conversations with the president, he should have reported that to Jeff Sessions regardless if Sessions was going to recuse himself from a different investigation weeks later. The sea gull defense is silly. BTW, how did he know that Sessions was going to recuse himself on the Russian question weeks later?
Once you're a private citizen--like Comey was after he was fired--you can talk all you want too. I think G.W. Bush had about 7 books written about him after department heads left office under his administration.
Comey did tell Trump the importance of the independence of the Justice Department and his job as FBI director--and Trump didn't get the message obviously, because he phoned him directly 6 different times--discussing the "russian cloud."
Was this a bad day for TRUMP--Oh Hell yeah.
It's what he or anyone else is refusing to answer in a public hearing is what you have to be concerned about.
B'loney. Former Government Employees do not have carte blanche to leak privileged information.
Comey took notes, put them in his pocket,
who marked them classified
or
controlled
or
sensitive
WHO?
When you are asked to a private meeting with your boss, with only the 2 of you present......confidentiality of the conversation would be the norm.
Most people already know not to blab their mouth off, especially to others of the same or lower level of seniority. IF Comey thought the conversation was of 'national security' importance or a crime, then he could/should have went to the authority that would handle that aspect. Sessions?? But not to his peeps &/or the media
no, comey went thru the proper channels under the circumstances, at the time and then after the fact too... that means ALL things considered factual, not just trumpswab fantasy circumstances in full denial of the legal facts and processes.
our dumbo president calls highly regarded FBI director a "nut job" because trump is evidently incapable of comprehending protocol and legal processes and limitations.
FACT is, only
after trump fired him and then tweeted threats about possible tapes, did private citizen comey then deliberately and legally, let it be know publicly that he indeed had saved transcripts of their conversations.
only dumbo or dishonest observers can't discern the difference between an illegal leak that compromises national security vs what comey did which was a fully legal exposure of important facts.