It has become obvious over the last two years that former FBI Director James Comey had been less than truthful in his dealings with Congress, his superiors in the Trump and Obama administrations, and the American people on a number of issues — and there are members of President Donald Trump’s team that want Comey to be held accountable for his misleading and untruthful ways.
In fact, a report from the Washington Times alleges that Trump’s legal team even compiled evidence of Comey’s dishonesty and attempted to persuade special counsel Robert Mueller and the Justice Department of Comey’s need to be fully investigated and prosecuted for his lies.
The Times reported that the efforts toward holding Comey accountable have come to light following the recent announcement that Mueller had derived another guilty plea out of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, this time for lying to Congress about the details of a potential business deal for a Trump hotel in Moscow, a deal that never fully materialized.
Investigate Comey for his documented lies
Former Trump attorney John Dowd told the Times: “The Cohen plea of lying to Congress by the special counsel raises the very serious question as to why the special counsel has refused to investigate and prosecute the false statements and testimony of James Comey, the main accuser of the president, before the Senate Judiciary and Intel committees.”
Dowd revealed that Trump’s legal team had filed complaints with both Mueller and the DOJ in 2017 that focused on dishonest remarks Comey had made in May 2017. (He denied under oath before Congress any involvement in FBI leaks to the media about Trump and his associates, a statement he later walked back.)
Dowd recalled that Mueller had informed him that the special counsel team would not be looking at Comey’s dishonesty, so Dowd had pressed the matter with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in a letter formally requesting a grand jury investigation into Comey.
Rosenstein never issued a clear response on the matter, and merely declined to confirm or deny any sort of investigation.
Dowd, referencing Comey’s personal memos about Trump that were leaked to the media through a friend, wrote in that letter to Rosenstein: “It is particularly troubling that it was Mr. Comey’s plainly deliberate, unlawful conduct and false congressional testimony which precipitated your appointment of Special Counsel Mueller. Indeed, Mr. Comey publicly bragged about it.”
Others have lied as well
Considering that Cohen has been forced to cop a plea for lying to Congress, it stands to reason that other individuals who are known to have lied to Congress should also be held accountable by the DOJ. There are four individuals who specifically and immediately come to mind as an example of this double standard, including former National Security Agency chief James Clapper.
Clapper lied under oath to the Senate in 2013 when he denied that the NSA collected information on American citizens.
Likewise, sleazy anti-Trump attorney Michael Avenatti submitted false information to the Senate Judiciary Committee with regard to sexual misconduct allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, allegations that were later debunked and retracted.
Furthermore, former U.K. intelligence agent Christopher Steele provided false information to the FBI and Congress, by virtue of the still unproven and partially debunked “dossier” he compiled of Russian misinformation about then-candidate Trump.
Similarly, Glenn Simpson — head of the Fusion GPS opposition research firm that hired Steele and commissioned his dossier — had a hand in presenting false information to the government and may have lied himself during testimony to a Senate committee.
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There is little doubt that James Comey has been less than truthful with Congress, his former superiors, and the American people — and he should be held to account for his dishonesty.
It’s only fair.