BY Dick Morris
WE.CONNECT.DOTS: Did FBI Director James Comey cause Hillary Clinton to lose the presidency? Would she have lost regardless of his clumsy stabs at fulfilling his understanding of the voters’ right to know such sensitive information at an equally sensitive time?
Depends on who you are reading.
One issue that no one argues . . .
The last time the FBI opened itself to accusations that it had inserted itself into a political process happened before J. Edgar Hoover died in 1972. The first FBI director, Hoover, appointed in 1935, was succeeded by five other men before President Obama appointed Comey in 2013.
As President-elect Trump unravels the Obama legacy, the outgoing Chief Executive must shoulder some blame.
Comey is a career prosecutor who made his rep by sending high-profile miscreants to jail. Too many prosecutors are consumed with an end-justifies-the-means perception of justice.
Make no mistake, prosecutors are among the very most powerful people in our society. Juries are too confused. Judges could be an effective line of defense to insure people are not wrongfully punished, but more jurists are former prosecutors than defense attorneys.
I either love to hate prosecutors or hate to love them by personal experience. Five decades ago as a cub reporter on the crime beat I remember one prosecutor pursuing conviction of an alleged rapist with little or no evidence. He reasoned that the defendant would at least have to hire a lawyer and get his name muddied.
Four decades ago, as a political leader, I was scheduled to be one of Richard Thornburgh’s victims on his path to the PA Governor’s office. His demented twist of our judicial system – selectively prosecuting his political enemies – helped ruin the lives of every Democratic county chairmen around me. I was not convicted, but my public life in politics and government was beyond repair. Tom Corbett similarly corrupted the system to his political advantage a decade ago.
Three decades ago, I am at lunch in Leesburg, VA with John Flynn, a former federal assistant attorney in New York. Flynn said he believed it was his duty to “right the wrong of voters” when he (Flynn) determined that is what happened. The defendant being discussed was former U.S. Rep. Dan Flood, of Wilkes-Barre.
However, I continue to view prosecutors as a contradiction. Some have been my closest friends. The successful ones are brilliant, analytical and competitive. Some even fear they might not always be convicting the right defendants.
I never met Comey, but this much is known.
President George W. Bush appointed him US Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2002 and Deputy Attorney General the following year. He was acting Attorney General during John Ashcroft’s illness in 2004.
A lifelong Republican, Comey, 55, was a protégé of former NY Senator Al D’Amato. In 1996 he acted as special deputy counsel to the Senate Whitewater Committee. D’Amato was chair and Kenneth Starr was “independent” counsel.
The blatantly partisan committee was charged with investigating Whitewater Development Corporation and certain real estate transactions involving the Clintons. Before Starr surrendered he managed to get the committee to also probe other Clinton issues – “Travelgate,” “Filegate,” “Chinagate” and circumstances surrounding Vince Foster’s death.
Starr, Comey and company withheld their exonerations of the Clintons on all probes until after the 1998 Congressional elections.
Starr, Comey and company failed, but Comey got another shot. Right before he led the prosecution of Martha Stewart, in 2004 he supervised the investigation of President Bill Clinton’s controversial pardon of Marc Rich.
When John McCain ran against Obama in 2008, Comey contributed to McCain. When Mitt Romney battled Obama in 2012, Comey donated to Romney. He re-registered as an Independent earlier this year.
Perhaps Obama’s focus on diversity required inclusion of establishment Republicans. Comey is a white male who spent much of his career trying to jail the Clintons.
The person who could have kept reign on Comey is his boss, Attorney General Loretta Lynch. This female Afro-American became the nation’s top law enforcement officer in 2015. Again, Obama’s penchant for diversity may have outweighed management ability, or even political common sense.
To eliminate politics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Comey’s appointment is to a ten-year term, deliberately designed to transcend presidential terms in office. Some observers report that Comey’s superiors at Justice warned that he was bringing harm to the FBI’s reputation and not following protocol.
Published opinions on Comey’s effect on the election range from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Breitbart Network, the “alt-right” mouthpiece for President-elect Trump, claims Comey’s actions were really intended to benefit Clinton. They reasoned Comey had served as corporate counsel to companies such as Lockheed Martin and HSBC Holdings which were large donors to the Clinton Foundation. Ergo, Comey was rigging the process to prevent prosecution of Hillary.
Snopes.com’s fact checks shoot this contention full of holes.
Mrs. Clinton has already told staff and friends that she believes Comey’s actions were fatal. However, even the Washington Post, an ardent supporter of Clinton, believes she is more responsible for her own loss than any other factor.
The Post’s Marc Thiessen writes “Comey did not use a private email server” and “Comey did not fail to turn over 14,900 emails to the FBI.” The Post reported its exit polls showed 54 percent of the voters believed Clinton “is corrupt.”
Bottom Line: The real answer may await revelations by a respected novelist. Chronicles of the downfall of the Clinton era in American politics is certain to be a subject to facts not yet known and varying interpretation.
The most enlightening opinion is expressed by Matt Mangino, a former prosecutor and the most practical criminal justice blogger in America.
Mr. Mangino writes that Comey should learn from the medical profession.
“Do no harm,” Mangino published in a blog four days before the election. “The harm that has been done goes beyond this election and to the reputation of the FBI and the growing distrust of the American system of justice.”
