Ex-Director’s Bombshell: Prez’s ‘Hope’ To Drop Probe
It’s impossible to know what debacle is coming next from a White House that has been crippled by incompetence (“Trump the Inept,” Editorial, May 17).
The latest allegation is that the president might have engaged in obstruction of justice by pressuring then-FBI Director James Comey to end the investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Questions have been raised about Comey’s actions, but his honesty has not been challenged. He is the one to be believed in this matter.
How can Trump possibly retain the loyalty of his core supporters? When will patriotic congressional Republicans recognize that duty to country must supersede party loyalty? This national nightmare must end. Oren Spiegler Upper Saint Clair, Pa.
Comey’s memo doesn’t suggest that the president requested him to stop the FBI investigation into Flynn. Trump merely expressed a wish: “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.”
Surely if the ex-FBI director, an experienced former federal prosecutor, had thought for a moment that what the president expressed was an impeachable offense, he would have, or should have, resigned and informed the press that Trump had committed a crime.
The fact that he didn’t is a sign that Comey didn’t see anything improper or illegal in the president’s remark. John Hayden Wainscott
The legal definition of the word “intent” plays a big part in the story of Trump and Comey.
Trump allegedly told Comey in private that he hoped the Flynn matter could be put to rest. Trump’s critics are claiming this suggestion rises to the level of “obstruction of justice,” and he should be impeached.
But to prove obstruction of justice, the prosecutor must prove intent, and that is impossible. Defining “hope” in this legal environment is key.
These armchair judges should learn about the significance of the meaning of intent in this matter. David Lipton Toms River, NJ
The double standard of publishing unconfirmed allegations about Trump in The New York Times and elsewhere reeks of bias and contempt.
Calls for impeachment without reliable and substantive evidence are a sad commentary on the state of our politics.
It’s unclear when Comey wrote the memo, yet the outrage continues unabated, despite the administration’s denials. John Gargiulo Whitestone
Talk about being your own worst enemy. Isn’t there anyone in the White House, be it the vice president, a Cabinet member, an adviser or a family member, who can pull Trump aside and convince him to, you know, shut up?
His bravado and inyour-face comments may have made him a star in the real-estate business, but he’s no longer building skyscrapers.
His new construction project is America’s resurgence, but if he keeps shooting himself in the foot, it will end any hope of rising above the disaster of the last presidency. Louie Rey East Meadow
Is this Comey’s revenge? He could have written this memo anytime and said it was from that meeting. Even the Democrats agreed Comey was a disgrace until they flipflopped and now think he’s a hero.
Those leaking information from within the government have to be found and prosecuted before they do any more damage. The media could care less: Their main concern is bringing down Trump. Albert Bianchini Pittsburgh, Pa
There is no proof that what Comey wrote in the memo was the truth. And there is no proof that the excerpt that the anonymous leaker read to The New York Times was true, either. Both could have embellished or just lied.
Had the president attempted to intervene in the investigation into Flynn, it would have been Comey’s duty to inform the Justice Department. Knowing this was not the case, the article is not to be believed. Earl Beal Terre Haute, Ind.