Friday, June 9, 2017

Comey FBI Testimony

Note: This is an article I wrote for work alongside the help of another reporter who interviewed the professor.  A video of the segment I produced on my show that accompanied it will be attached at the bottom.

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A local political expert is weighing in on former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Comey testified under oath on his interactions with President Donald Trump since Hillary Clinton's defeat in the 2016 election.

It was Comey's first public appearance since he was abruptly fired by President Trump on May 9.

Comey spoke of a growing unease between himself and the president. He told senators he believed Trump had both lied to him on multiple occasions and tried to pressure him into dropping the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's connections with the Russian government.

Comey also accused the Trump administration of consciously working to sabotage his public image. "The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray," Comey said.  "That it was poorly led, that the work force had lost confidence in its leader.  Those were lies, plain and simple.

During the testimony, Comey said he asked a third-party person to leak his memos detailing those conversations with Trump to the press. Comey hoped this would lead to the appointment of a special counsel to handle the investigation into the Trump campaign's interactions with the Russian government.

"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting and so I thought it really important to document," the former FBI Director said.

The president fired back through his attorney, saying Comey's admission that he leaked information should lead the former FBI director be investigated for other leaks.

Missouri Western political science professor Melinda Kovacs said she felt it was a smart move by Comey to have the memos leaked to reporters.

"I think that what has come out in public for this particular case is much more substantial and serious than in previous cases in presidential history," Kovacs said.

Kovacs added she believes the next steps in the investigation will most likely not be as public as Thursday's testimony, and will involve work behind closed doors by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Regardless of how his investigation turns out, Kovacs said she believes today's hearing will have long-lasting effects on the White House.