Is the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Nixonian?
The Cheeto-in-Chief has fired FBI Director James Comey. Before delving into the parallels and comparisons between what 45 has done by firing Mr. Comey to what Richard Nixon did in the infamous "Saturday Night Massacre" let us examine his predecessors, starting with the man who replaced J. Edgar Hoover.
L. Patrick Gray was allowed to resign as acting FBI Director after he admitted to destroying documents given to him by John Dean and John Ehrlichman.
William Ruckelhaus lasted all of 70 days as the successor to Mr. Gray. Then he was appointed as the Deputy Attorney General of the United States and he was forced to resign from that post when he refused to fire the Watergate Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox.
Clarence Kelly was up next and he served for four years in the position, and then retired. He is credited with ending several questionable practices that had begun during the era of J. Edgar Hoover.
James B. Adams served for eight days as the acting FBI Director to fill the gap between Mr. Kelly's retirement and the swearing-in of his successor, William H. Webster. He served honorable in the position for more than nine years until President Ronald Reagan appointed him as Director of the CIA.
His successor, William S. Sessions was the first FBI director in the post-Hoover era to be dismissed by a president. President Bill Clinton fired Sessions when Sessions refused to resign after the disclosure of a number of apparent violations of ethics rules. He used an FBI plane to visit his daughter. You can read more about Sessions and what he was accused of doing in a terrific book by Ronald Kessler.
Louis Freeh was the next person to sit in the FBI Director chair. His tenure was marked with controversies, including the siege at Waco. He resigned before the end of his term.
Robert Mueller was the next FBI Director. He served his full ten year term and then spent two more years in the position at the personal request of President Barrack Obama.
The now fired James Comey followed him in the position. Was he given the opportunity to resign rather than being fired, as Mr. Sessions was given? No. In point of fact, the Cheeto-in-Chief did this firing so badly, Mr. Comey learned about his dismissal from a breaking news item on CNN. That is just plain wrong.
* * *
So was Mr. Comey's termination Nixonian? There are parallels. I happen to think that it should be considered Trumpian in its own right. Remember that when President Nixon fired Archibald Cos, he didn't just fire him. He actually abolished the Office of the Special Prosecutor. This is documented in a 1973 article in the Washington Post. Unless 45 is even dumber than we all think, he couldn't possibly believe that he has the power to abolish the FBI. Would firing Mr. Comey end the investigation into whether or not there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election? No. But it might well slow it down.
However, Trump also fired Sally Yates. We don't have confirmation that he has promised Preet Bharara that he would be kept on as a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District in New York, as he claims, but given his proclivity for investigating, it makes sense 45 wouldn't want him to have the power to investigate the Cheeto-in-Chief.
Richard M. Nixon was a crook, his protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. We don't know for certain just what 45 is when it comes to lawbreaking, although it is clear he has no ethics and that he has flouted IRS regulations regarding the activities of his private foundation.
It doesn't matter if what he did is or isn't Nixonian. It is wrong. A special prosecutor, who isn't subject to any oversight by anyone in the Trump administration, is warranted. Needed. Vital.
L. Patrick Gray was allowed to resign as acting FBI Director after he admitted to destroying documents given to him by John Dean and John Ehrlichman.
William Ruckelhaus lasted all of 70 days as the successor to Mr. Gray. Then he was appointed as the Deputy Attorney General of the United States and he was forced to resign from that post when he refused to fire the Watergate Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox.
Clarence Kelly was up next and he served for four years in the position, and then retired. He is credited with ending several questionable practices that had begun during the era of J. Edgar Hoover.
James B. Adams served for eight days as the acting FBI Director to fill the gap between Mr. Kelly's retirement and the swearing-in of his successor, William H. Webster. He served honorable in the position for more than nine years until President Ronald Reagan appointed him as Director of the CIA.
His successor, William S. Sessions was the first FBI director in the post-Hoover era to be dismissed by a president. President Bill Clinton fired Sessions when Sessions refused to resign after the disclosure of a number of apparent violations of ethics rules. He used an FBI plane to visit his daughter. You can read more about Sessions and what he was accused of doing in a terrific book by Ronald Kessler.
Louis Freeh was the next person to sit in the FBI Director chair. His tenure was marked with controversies, including the siege at Waco. He resigned before the end of his term.
Robert Mueller was the next FBI Director. He served his full ten year term and then spent two more years in the position at the personal request of President Barrack Obama.
The now fired James Comey followed him in the position. Was he given the opportunity to resign rather than being fired, as Mr. Sessions was given? No. In point of fact, the Cheeto-in-Chief did this firing so badly, Mr. Comey learned about his dismissal from a breaking news item on CNN. That is just plain wrong.
* * *
So was Mr. Comey's termination Nixonian? There are parallels. I happen to think that it should be considered Trumpian in its own right. Remember that when President Nixon fired Archibald Cos, he didn't just fire him. He actually abolished the Office of the Special Prosecutor. This is documented in a 1973 article in the Washington Post. Unless 45 is even dumber than we all think, he couldn't possibly believe that he has the power to abolish the FBI. Would firing Mr. Comey end the investigation into whether or not there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election? No. But it might well slow it down.
However, Trump also fired Sally Yates. We don't have confirmation that he has promised Preet Bharara that he would be kept on as a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District in New York, as he claims, but given his proclivity for investigating, it makes sense 45 wouldn't want him to have the power to investigate the Cheeto-in-Chief.
Richard M. Nixon was a crook, his protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. We don't know for certain just what 45 is when it comes to lawbreaking, although it is clear he has no ethics and that he has flouted IRS regulations regarding the activities of his private foundation.
It doesn't matter if what he did is or isn't Nixonian. It is wrong. A special prosecutor, who isn't subject to any oversight by anyone in the Trump administration, is warranted. Needed. Vital.
posted by me at 2:27 PM
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