Congress needs to step up in wake of Comey’s firing

For a guy who built a television following for his ability to say “you’re fired!” while laying out a case for showing celebrity apprentices the door, President Donald Trump could hardly have bungled the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey more than he did.

First, firing the FBI chief in the midst of the agency’s probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians is almost textbook insanity. If Trump somehow thought that would tamp down any investigation, it had the opposite effect — with Democrats howling for a special prosecutor, drawing comparisons with Richard Nixon’s Saturday Night massacre and tossing around the “i” word — as in impeachment.

Some Republicans are also aghast at the firing, although others including Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C. and a longtime “Never Trumper,” agree it was past time for Comey to go. They argued he had lost all credibility with Congress, the American people and the rank-and-file of the FBI.

Indeed, Comey has been villified by both parties. First by the GOP for not indicting Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server and then by the Democrats for explaining that decision to the American public during the election campaign — after laying out a case for bringing charges.

Then the Republicans stepped up again, raising questions about problems with the investigation — no grand jury, no subpoenas, no recording of the interview with Clinton, etc. That was followed by Democrat outrage when Comey subsequently announced that thousands of State Department emails had been found on a device belonging to Anthony Weiner — an unsavory character in his own right and husband of Clinton aide and BFF Huma Abedin.

Clinton recently said Comey was one of the reasons she lost to Trump, who won more than 300 electoral votes despite appearing to bungle through the campaign with all the tact he showed in firing Comey. But even with the low bar he has set for himself, Trump really outdid himself this time.

He didn’t have the courtesy to meet in person with Comey, who learned of his firing as it scrolled across the screen while he was speaking to FBI employees in California. Comey deserved better — no matter his political toxicity.

Trump also failed miserably because he didn’t simultaneously appoint a respected, tough prosecutor with free reign as Comey’s replacement. He could have done himself, the FBI and the nation a big favor by curbing his impulses until he had a replacement ready to go — so Americans could factor that into the equation. Instead, they are left with only a picture of a mean-spirited, impulsive president who looks like he might be engaged in a cover-up.

While many are trying to make political hay, the most important thing now is for the congressional intelligence committees to buckle down on their investigations into the Russia issue.

It should be noted there has been no evidence put forward of campaign-related collusion between Trump, his team and the Russians. Given that, a special prosecutor would be premature. And it is important to note that under existing law a special prosecutor would report to .... the Justice Department!

Meanwhile, Senate Intelligence Committee chair Richard Burr, R-N.C., has said that most of the FBI agents who need to be interviewed in the committee’s investigation have already appeared. The committee subpoena of documents belonging to Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s fired national security adviser, is another important step that has been taken.

Also, there are news reports — denied by the Justice Department and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe — that Comey was fired after asking for more resources for his investigation. We need to know if that’s true.

We have bipartisan committees of our elected representatives — armed with subpoena power — whose job is to get to the bottom of this. They need to get on with that work. The American public deserves the truth.