MAKE IT GO AWAY
Urged FBI boss to drop Flynn-Russia inquiry
WASHINGTON — President Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to deep-six the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn in February, according to a memo by Comey relayed to The New York Times, a revelation that had some politicians talking impeachment.
“I hope you can let this go,” Trump told Comey, according to the memo.
That request is the strongest evidence to date that the President sought to meddle in the Justice Department and FBI’s investigation into whether his team colluded with Russia to rig the 2016 election, and will further fuel congressional investigations into Trump’s actions, raising concerns about obstruction of justice.
The meeting between Trump and Comey took place the day after Flynn (photo) was forced to resign, two people who read the memo told The Times, and Comey wrote it immediately afterward.
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Trump told Comey in the private meeting, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” Comey was noncommittal in his reply. According to The Times, Trump had asked several other senior administration officials to leave the room after a Valentine’s Day meeting to talk to Comey alone, and complained about leaks — suggesting that Comey should consider locking up reporters who were given classified information. The memo could be damning evidence for why Trump fired Comey last week — a move that had already triggered further chaos in the White House and raised alarms across Washington. It’s also just one of many detailed memos that Comey made after each conversation with Trump during his presidency, according to The Times. Members of both parties on Capitol Hill quickly called for the memos to be investigated. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) vowed to “get the Comey memo, if it exists. I need to see it sooner rather than later.” He wrote a letter to acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe demanding the agency turn
over any memos from Comey within the next week so his committee can consider “whether the President attempted to influence or impede the FBI’s investigation as it relates to Lt. Gen. Flynn.”
Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent and moderate known for his caution, said on CNN that if the reports were true that impeachment would be on the table.
The White House called the Times story inaccurate.
“While the President has repeatedly expressed his view that Gen. Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the President has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving Gen. Flynn,” a White House spokesman said in a statement, pointing out that McCabe said in testimony last week that the White House had not interfered with any investigation.
The Times report was confirmed by multiple outlets, many of which reported the existence of more Comey memos.
Democrats sounded shocked by the reports, while many Republicans scrambled to avoid questions.
“Yesterday, secrets to the Russians. Today, obstruction of justice? When does this end?” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he was “shaken” by the reports, and called on his GOP colleagues to step up to protect democracy.
“If reports are true, Trump’s attempt to shut down the FBI’s Flynn investigation is an assault on the rule of law,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called on Comey to testify to Congress, and soon. Comey had been invited to testify before a closed committee hearing this week, but declined. He reportedly is willing to testify at a public hearing.
“Let’s get to the bottom of what happened with the director. And the best way to get to the bottom of it, is for him to testify,” Graham told reporters. “If he felt confident enough to write it down, he should come in and tell us about it.”
And some other Republicans started to sound more willing to challenge Trump than in the past.
“If recent allegations are true, they mark the beginning of a new and very sad chapter of scandal and controversy in our country,” Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) tweeted.
The report is the latest development in a deluge of news that has thrown the young Trump administration into utter chaos.
In just the past week, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified that she’d told Trump’s team that Flynn had lied to them about the contents of a conversation he had with Russia’s ambassador and that Trump took 18 days to fire him afterward, not acting until the story became public.
Trump fired Comey the day after Yates’ testimony, just one week ago. The day after that, he met with top Russian officials — and gave them highly classified information on ISIS.
Then on Friday, he went on a Twitter rant suggesting he had “tapes” of his private conversations with Comey. The Russian intelligence story broke Monday evening, with White House officials struggling to knock it down until Trump himself basically admitted it on Twitter Tuesday morning.
The flood had some Republicans on edge.
In a speech to the International Republican Institute, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Trump administration scandals had reached “Watergate size and scale.”