This may be "The Last STraw" even for Republicans. Now THEY all have to think about whether their careers will be destroyed by Trump just like those associated with Nixon were. Several Nixon aides went to Jail then too. Which Republicans besides Flynn might go to jail now? Carter Page? or others? How many is Trump going to bring down with him now? Or will he just succeed in covering it all up and end our democracy this time?
Aides contradict official White House story
begin quote from:
Dismissed: They were fired while investigating Trump
Story highlights
- FBI Director Comey the latest official to fall foul of Trump mid-investigation
- Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara had previously been dismissed
(CNN)After President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey,
questions immediately arose about the President's motivations for his
dismissal -- and for the recent firings of two other then-President
Barack Obama-appointees who were in the middle of conducting
investigations linked to Trump.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
said Comey's firing was part of a "deeply troubling pattern from the
Trump administration," that appears to be linked to two other
high-profile dismissals.
"They fired Sally Yates. They fired Preet Bharara. And they fired James Comey,
the very man leading he investigation. This does not seem to be a
coincidence," Schumer said shortly after the announcement, calling for a
special independent prosecutor into the Trump campaign's ties to the
Kremlin.
"Any
person who he appoints to lead the Russian investigation will be
concerned that he or she will meet the same fate as Director Comey," he
said.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin was not buying the idea that Comey was sacked over the Clinton investigation, saying it was "absurd."
Toobin
branded the move a "grotesque abuse of power by the President of the
United States," comparing the sacking of Comey to President Richard Nixon's firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox during the Watergate scandal.
James Comey
Then-FBI
Director James Comey testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary
Committee during an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill May 3, 2017 in
Washington, DC.
The
FBI director saw his reputation compromised when he became embroiled in
the 2016 election campaign. He was first criticized by Republicans when
he announced he wouldn't be charging then-Democratic nominee Hillary
Clinton over her emails, and then by Democrats for publicly reopening
the case days before Americans went to the polls.
Why was he fired?
The
Trump administration attributed Comey's dismissal to his handling of
the investigation into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's use of a
private email server. In a signed letter released by
the White House, Trump informed Comey that he was "hereby terminated and
removed from office, effective immediately," explaining that he reached
the conclusion that the erstwhile director was "not able to effectively
lead the bureau."
What was he investigating?
As head of the FBI, he was overseeing the investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties
to the Kremlin. Democrats have ridiculed the notion that the Clinton
issue is what truly prompted Comey's dismissal, drawing parallels to
Watergate-era firings and suggesting Comey was getting too close to the
White House with the Russia probe.
Where is the investigation now?
At
a hearing last week, Comey confirmed that the FBI's investigation into
accusations of coordination between Trump's presidential campaign and
Russian officials was continuing. It's not clear if the incoming FBI
director will pick up where Comey left off.
Sally Yates
Former
US Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates testifies before the Senate
Judicary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism on Capitol Hill
May 8.
Appointed
by Obama, former Deputy Attorney General Yates had been running Trump's
Justice Department as Acting Attorney General while Trump's nominee for
the role, Sen. Jeff Sessions, awaited confirmation. She became a
household name when Trump abruptly removed her from the temporary position.
Why was she fired?
Ostensibly
for her refusal to implement the first iteration of Trump's ban on
travelers from a number of Muslim-majority countries.
"The
acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of
Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the
citizens of the United States," White House press secretary Sean Spicer
said in a statement at the time, explaining the President's actions.
What was she investigating?
As
part of the probe into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump
administration, then-acting Attorney General Yates met with White House
counsel to inform them that then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn
wasn't telling the truth about his interactions with Russian ambassador
Sergey Kislyak and, as a result, represented a blackmail risk.
"We
believed that General Flynn was compromised with respect to the
Russians," Yates said in a Senate subcommittee hearing aimed at
gathering details of the Russian hacking of the 2016 election on Monday
in Washington.
"Logic would tell
you that you don't want the national security adviser to be in a
position where the Russians have leverage over him," she added.
Where is the investigation now?
Yates said Monday
that she warned the White House earlier this year that former Trump
national security adviser Michael Flynn could be "essentially
blackmailed by the Russians."
Preet Bharara
Preet
Bharara, then-US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, at the
US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in June
2016.
Preet
Bharara, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was
known as one of Wall Street's fiercest watchdogs and a widely respected
prosecutor.
Why was he fired?
Bharara first refused to resign along with 46 US attorneys
across the country. Although it is common for incoming administrations
to replace district attorneys when transitioning to power, Trump had
previously assured Bharara that he'd keep his job.
Sources
told CNN that Bharara had been told after a meeting with Trump in
November that he could stay on, and that he felt blindsided by the
request. He was fired after refusing to comply.
At
the time, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren posted a series of tweets
suggesting Bharara was removed in part because he "had authority over
Trump Tower."
Bharara suggested
that this was indeed the case. "I wanted it to be on record that there
was a deliberate decision to change (his) mind and fire me, particularly
given what my office's jurisdiction is," he said.
What was he investigating?
Bharara's office had many investigations ongoing at the time of his firing, including one involving Trump favorite Fox News.
And
then there's the President's claim that he was wiretapped in Trump
Tower on orders of then-President Obama, whose investigation led back to
the Southern District of New York.
"Trump
has undoubtedly decided that he wants his own pick rather than the
choice of Senate adversary (and minority leader) Chuck Schumer in place
as the top federal prosecutor in New York," CNN legal analyst Paul
Callan wrote in March.
Where is the investigation now?
Members of both parties have said they have seen no evidence to back up Trump's allegations about Obama, and, addressing a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee,
Comey said that he had "no information" to support claims by the
President that he was wiretapped on the orders of his predecessor.
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