Andrew McCabe wrote:
I have been an FBI Special Agent for over 21 years. I spent half of that time investigating Russian Organized Crime as a street agent and Supervisor in New York City. I have spent the second half of my career focusing on national security issues and protecting this country from terrorism. I served in some of the most challenging, demanding investigative and leadership roles in the FBI. And I was privileged to serve as Deputy Director during a particularly tough time.
For the last year and a half, my family and I have been the targets of an unrelenting assault on our reputation and my service to this country. Articles too numerous to count have leveled every sort of false, defamatory and degrading allegation against us. The president’s tweets have amplified and exacerbated it all. He called for my firing. He called for me to be stripped of my pension after more than 20 years of service. And all along we have said nothing, never wanting to distract from the mission of the FBI by addressing the lies told and repeated about it.
No more.
The investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has to be understood in the context of the attacks on my credibility. The investigation flows from my attempt to explain the FBI’s involvement and my supervision of investigations involving Hillary Clinton. I was being portrayed in the media over and over as a political partisan, accused of closing down investigations under political pressure. The FBI was portrayed as caving under that pressure, and making decisions for political rather than law enforcement purposes. Nothing was further from the truth. In fact, this entire investigation stems from my efforts, fully authorized under FBI rules, to set the record straight on behalf of the Bureau and to make it clear that we were continuing an investigation that people in DOJ opposed.
The OIG investigation has focused on information I chose to share with a reporter through my public affairs officer and a legal counselor. As Deputy Director, I was one of only a few people who had the authority to do that. It was not a secret, it took place over several days, and others, including the Director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter. It was the same type of exchange with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several times per week. In fact it was the same type of work that I continued to do under Director Wray, at his request. The investigation subsequently focused on who I talked to, when I talked to them, and so forth. During these inquiries, I answered questions truthfully and as accurately as I could amidst the chaos that surrounded me. And when I thought my answers were misunderstood, I contacted investigators to correct them.
But looking at that in isolation completely misses the big picture. The big picture is a tale of what can happen when law enforcement is politicized, public servants are attacked, and people who are supposed to cherish and protect our institutions become instruments for damaging those institutions and people.
Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey. The release of this report was accelerated only after my testimony to the House Intelligence Committee revealed that I would corroborate former Director Comey’s accounts of his discussions with the President. The OIG’s focus on me and this report became a part of an unprecedented effort by the Administration, driven by the President himself, to remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and possibly strip me of a pension that I worked 21 years to earn. The accelerated release of the report, and the punitive actions taken in response, make sense only when viewed through this lens. Thursday’s comments from the White House are just the latest example of this.
This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally. It is part of this Administration’s ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel investigation, which continue to this day. Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the Special Counsel’s work.
I have always prided myself on serving my country with distinction and integrity, and I have always encouraged those around me to do the same. Just ask them. To have my career end in this way, and to be accused of lacking candor when at worst I was distracted in the misty fo chaotic events, is incredibly disappointing and unfair. But it will not erase the important work I was prevailed to be a part of, the results of which will in the end be revealed for the country to see.
I have unfailing faith in the men and women of the FBI and I am confident that their efforts to seek justice will not be deterred.
malchior wrote: ↑Sat Mar 17, 2018 7:02 am
Except he is claiming he didn't lie under oath, that James Comey knew what he was doing, and he was being targeted for political reasons. And if that bears out to be true then this is a scandal that ordinarily would have shaken multiple institutions to their foundations. If this was Hillary - I'd expect the IG, AG, and possibly the President to go down if the allegations proved to be false and cooked up. We'll see what happens. Nonetheless this is very, very disturbing. We are in deep shit. This is behavior I'd expect out of Russia. Seriously. This isn't banana republic territory anymore.
Edit: From a BBC article on this:
"McCabe has issued a lengthy statement vehemently rejecting the allegations against him and denouncing what he described as a campaign of attacks on his credibility.
He insisted he had done nothing wrong in organising the October 2016 interview, saying "it was the type of exchange with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several times per week".
He said of the subsequent justice department investigation that he tried to answer the questions "truthfully and accurately" and "when I thought my answers were misunderstood, I contacted investigators to correct them".
"The big picture is a tale of what can happen when law enforcement is politicized," he went on to say.
"Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey."
Absolutely disturbing. They went hunting for anything they could hang on him because it looked slightly off-color and used it to smear him and punish him publicly. This is a direct attack on the FBI and the rule of law.
That is how they work. Just ask anyone interviewed by Mueller.
Glorious Leader wrote:Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!
I'm curious if McCabe will appeal to the Merit Service Protection Board. Though I'm not certain he's eligible. He served in the civil service for years, but was an appointee a the end. Do they get protection?
This is a perfect example of why Trump should shut the hell up. If McCabe deserved to be fired, the system should have been given the chance to work. As it is, it looks bad. As if Trump pushed through a political firing, something we are not supposed to have in our system of civil service anymore.
POTUS wrote:As the House Intelligence Committee has concluded, there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump Campaign. As many are now finding out, however, there was tremendous leaking, lying and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice & State. #DrainTheSwamp
POTUS wrote:The Fake News is beside themselves that McCabe was caught, called out and fired. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars was given to wife’s campaign by Crooked H friend, Terry M, who was also under investigation? How many lies? How many leaks? Comey knew it all, and much more!
So apparently Trump has *already* forgotten that the official WH justification for firing McCabe (as it was with Comey) is related to him treating Clinton unfairly during the election?
Oh, and also:
BREAKING: AP learns fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe maintained personal memos regarding President Donald Trump.
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:39 am
I love how hate-tweeting at midnight is now a completely normal and acceptable thing for the leader of the free world to be doing.
I hate this timeline.
Let's take an international poll to see if they consider Trump to be The Leader of the Free World (TM).
Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:39 am
I love how hate-tweeting at midnight is now a completely normal and acceptable thing for the leader of the free world to be doing.
I hate this timeline.
Let's take an international poll to see if they consider Trump to be The Leader of the Free World (TM).
Shocking absolutely no one but those with net positive approval of Trump...
John Harwood wrote:new NBC/WSJ poll: Trump receives net positive approval only from Americans whose education went no further than high school. net negative among those who attended college even for a time
Normally I'm all about bashing Trump and his supporters, but since I'm in a fairly giving mood today, I do want to point out that that level of elitism is what got him into office to begin with.
I don't know how elitist that is considering that ~60% of the population of the United States has more education than them. That doesn't look much like an ivory tower - it is a pretty wide spread of people. I believe the elitism drove them angle is more or less wrong - it makes more sense to focus on white resentment. Was that driven by the economic consequences of their educational attainment? Sure - and should people in power dealt with that inequality of outcomes instead of ignoring it? Sure again - but "elitism" is a more a manufactured rallying cry to appeal to these folks than a real root cause.
Last edited by malchior on Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:26 pm
Normally I'm all about bashing Trump and his supporters, but since I'm in a fairly giving mood today, I do want to point out that that level of elitism is what got him into office to begin with.
hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:26 pm
Normally I'm all about bashing Trump and his supporters, but since I'm in a fairly giving mood today, I do want to point out that that level of elitism is what got him into office to begin with.
Is citing simple statistics really elitism? That's a somewhat deplorable attitude...
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:26 pm
Normally I'm all about bashing Trump and his supporters, but since I'm in a fairly giving mood today, I do want to point out that that level of elitism is what got him into office to begin with.
I'm not sure I'd call it elitism. It doesn't specify people that went to Harvard or Cal Berkley or even just traditional 4 year schools. This includes folks who did 6 months at their local community college as well as students at places like Oral Roberts and Baylor. Those aren't the left's usual recruiting grounds.
OR
cry in a corner that the world has come to a point where you have to pay for imaginary shit.
hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:26 pm
Normally I'm all about bashing Trump and his supporters, but since I'm in a fairly giving mood today, I do want to point out that that level of elitism is what got him into office to begin with.
Is citing simple statistics really elitism? That's a somewhat deplorable attitude...
The font size they use for the words between the lines on that one is around 50 px.
In the early months of the administration, at the behest of now-President Trump, who was furious over leaks from within the White House, senior White House staff members were asked to, and did, sign nondisclosure agreements vowing not to reveal confidential information and exposing them to damages for any violation. Some balked at first but, pressed by then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and the White House Counsel’s Office, ultimately complied, concluding that the agreements would likely not be enforceable in any event.
...
Moreover, said the source, this confidentiality pledge would extend not only after an aide’s White House service but also beyond the Trump presidency. “It’s not meant to be constrained by the four years or eight years he’s president — or the four months or eight months somebody works there. It is meant to survive that.”
...
I haven’t been able to lay hands on the final agreement, but I do have a copy of a draft, and it is a doozy. It would expose violators to penalties of $10 million, payable to the federal government, for each and any unauthorized revelation of “confidential” information, defined as “all nonpublic information I learn of or gain access to in the course of my official duties in the service of the United States Government on White House staff,” including “communications . . . with members of the press” and “with employees of federal, state, and local governments.”
I maintain he had no intentions of winning this position and simply hoping to use his candidacy as a way to gain international financial opportunities in the private sector. The idea that all his private information is about to go public is probably causing him some significant stress. Running the country? No stress. Dirty laundry about to be aired? Off the charts.
hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:26 pm
Normally I'm all about bashing Trump and his supporters, but since I'm in a fairly giving mood today, I do want to point out that that level of elitism is what got him into office to begin with.
Is citing simple statistics really elitism? That's a somewhat deplorable attitude...
The font size they use for the words between the lines on that one is around 50 px.
If there is a correlation between level of education and support for the Trumpist agenda, then there is a correlation. Ignoring reality and unpleasant truths has a lot more to do with how you arrived in this situation than any sort of ginned-up sense of elitist criticism.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
GreenGoo wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 2:35 am
Oh no. Say it ain't so.
I'm not sure I understand that. Was it snark or something else?
There have been four bombings in Austin in recent days, all of them apparently targeting prominent black families. I only first read about it (or about the second, third, and fourth bombs, anyway) last night and this morning.
It certainly looks like domestic terrorism. It's the kind of thing presidents used to be concerned about and act upon.
hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:26 pm
Normally I'm all about bashing Trump and his supporters, but since I'm in a fairly giving mood today, I do want to point out that that level of elitism is what got him into office to begin with.
Is citing simple statistics really elitism? That's a somewhat deplorable attitude...
The font size they use for the words between the lines on that one is around 50 px.
If there is a correlation between level of education and support for the Trumpist agenda, then there is a correlation. Ignoring reality and unpleasant truths has a lot more to do with how you arrived in this situation than any sort of ginned-up sense of elitist criticism.
So if Fox News had performed the same study and the reverse had been found to be true, you wouldn’t question the reason behind that?
I think anyone who voted for Trump needs to rethink their lives, but I also understand (during my lucid moments) that continuing the narrative that they’re uneducated (which reads as stupid to many) just helps the orange doofus keep his grip on that demographic with an us vs them strategy.
Sooo, it's a "we all know it's true, and the data backs it up, but don't say it out loud" kinda thing? Only partially snarky here, because I see both sides of the culture war, which is also I think, an education war in some ways.
Above average educated elitist liberals mostly in urban areas, that use terms like "deplorables" and "fly over country" and similar arrogant and frankly, douchey language (like douchey)
vs
Salt of the earth, rural, undereducated, populist conservatives, that have swallowed the "fake news1!" meme as if it weren't just a political ploy, maybe consciously or subconsciously think that it's time "real" Americans were back on top, decisively.
Holman wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:20 am
I'm not sure I understand that. Was it snark or something else?
If tjg wants to talk about something, then he should talk about something. If he doesn't like what people are talking about, he should say so. I'm not a fan of passive aggressive.
I think we have to be careful about painting the "uneducated" block of Trump supporters with one brush. The knee-jerk reaction is to assume they support Trump because they're too clueless to see through the lies and midnight tweet rants and bad policy decisions.
However, I think there's probably a LARGE number of Trump supporters who are more accurately described as *uninformed*. They don't watch the news, they don't read newspapers. They voted for him on the basis of the campaign rhetoric, and they still support him because that's who they voted for. They couldn't tell you the first thing about steel tariffs or Mueller investigations. They go to work, try to provide for their family, and as long as there is food on the table, Trump's their man.
The good news is that those are the folks that can be swayed around election time, which is probably the only time they're paying any attention.
Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:07 am
Sooo, it's a "we all know it's true, and the data backs it up, but don't say it out loud" kinda thing?
It's more of a "Let's avoid shouting Trump supporters are stupid!" kinda thing. If anyone reading that poll doesn't translate the results into an insult either directed at them, or intended to support their own personal negative feelings about Trump supporters, I'd be surprised.
I think everyone here knows I absolutely loathe Trumputin, and that I have shown disdain for those who support him on more than one occasion. But in order to keep this crap from happening again, the dems (or any other opposition) needs to be careful to avoid becoming part of the Mangerine's narrative of "the Dems think we're all dumb, so let's show them who gets the last laugh!" (even though he's calling them idiots behind closed doors).
I wish we didn't, but I don't want another 4 years of a narcissistic man child running roughshod over the country.
hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:57 am
It's more of a "Let's avoid shouting Trump supporters are stupid!" kinda thing. If anyone reading that poll doesn't translate the results into an insult either directed at them, or intended to support their own personal negative feelings about Trump supporters, I'd be surprised.
Frankly - who cares? More accurately why should anyone care? They are not winnable. You can't change their opinions. They'll vote tribe. They are a sunk cost. Whatever expression works best.
I think everyone here knows I absolutely loathe Trumputin, and that I have shown disdain for those who support him on more than one occasion. But in order to keep this crap from happening again, the dems (or any other opposition) needs to be careful to avoid becoming part of the Mangerine's narrative of "the Dems think we're all dumb, so let's show them who gets the last laugh!" (even though he's calling them idiots behind closed doors).
I wish we didn't, but I don't want another 4 years of a narcissistic man child running roughshod over the country.
Agreed but this is not the problem. The problem is racism/white resentment. Whatever you want to call it. Almost entirely. Results like this are a focus to try to identify who is winnable and target them politically. The uninformed and angry are going to remain so. The upside is I have a feeling that 4 years of Trump will get a lot of ambivalent people off the sidelines. We are seeing signs of that already.
malchior wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:03 am
Frankly - who cares?
In my more charitable moments (or when I'm playing devil's advocate), I think we should. They're powerful enough to get a tv show host into office, so they're obviously a force to be reckoned with. If we can turn even a few of them to the light side, maybe Darth Vader won't be able to stop us from blowing up the Death Star.
Wouldn't you like to see Rip in a rebel uniform rather than an Imperial one? Of course, I'd still make him the lowest rank possible after some of the puns he's used in the past...
YellowKing wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:24 am
However, I think there's probably a LARGE number of Trump supporters who are more accurately described as *uninformed*. They don't watch the news, they don't read newspapers. They voted for him on the basis of the campaign rhetoric, and they still support him because that's who they voted for. They couldn't tell you the first thing about steel tariffs or Mueller investigations.
Or they only watch Fox News...which gets you basically the same thing.
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
malchior wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:03 am
Frankly - who cares?
In my more charitable moments (or when I'm playing devil's advocate), I think we should. They're powerful enough to get a tv show host into office, so they're obviously a force to be reckoned with. If we can turn even a few of them to the light side, maybe Darth Vader won't be able to stop us from blowing up the Death Star.
Wouldn't you like to see Rip in a rebel uniform rather than an Imperial one? Of course, I'd still make him the lowest rank possible after some of the puns he's used in the past...
I understand the sentiment but I still think you can't win these people. You can't push them away. They are lost. There won't be some grand dismantling of the media infrastructure that fuels their ignorance. Fox News, Breitbart, et al. are not going away and aren't going to reform.
The only realistic path forward is to get enough butts in seats to swing the House in the fall. That path lies through people you can influence. Polls like this provide a early glimpse of the battle shape so people can prepare. Far better than to be caught flat footed again.
malchior wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:03 am
Frankly - who cares?
In my more charitable moments (or when I'm playing devil's advocate), I think we should. They're powerful enough to get a tv show host into office, so they're obviously a force to be reckoned with. If we can turn even a few of them to the light side, maybe Darth Vader won't be able to stop us from blowing up the Death Star.
Wouldn't you like to see Rip in a rebel uniform rather than an Imperial one? Of course, I'd still make him the lowest rank possible after some of the puns he's used in the past...
There is also a matter of reaching the next generation. If you alienate my culture, my family, you make me an angry outcast and you validate what my elders are complaining about.
LordMortis wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:47 am
There is also a matter of reaching the next generation. If you alienate my culture, my family, you make me an angry outcast and you validate what my elders are complaining about.
Trump polls below 20% in people under 30 years old. Their elders' resentment is catching but not in epidemic numbers.
malchior wrote:They are lost. There won't be some grand dismantling of the media infrastructure that fuels their ignorance. Fox News, Breitbart, et al. are not going away and aren't going to reform.
If anything, they will get worse. Fox led to Drudge then begat Breitbart. Russian propaganda may be the next iteration.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein "I don't stand by anything." - Trump “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867 “It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
LordMortis wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:47 am
There is also a matter of reaching the next generation. If you alienate my culture, my family, you make me an angry outcast and you validate what my elders are complaining about.
Trump polls below 20% in people under 30 years old. Their elders' resentment is catching but not in epidemic numbers.
Maybe right now but wait until those people under 30 whose parents fully embrace Trump have trouble finding a job and their elders preach to them about how the Left is to blame. Tunes change based on the influencing factors.
An otherwise smart kid I know is dating an otherwise nice boy who supports Trump because "He likes his morals". If you think for a second that young man has actually stopped to consider how stupid that statement is you're a bigger fool than he is. He is, however, very religious and very influenced by his religious parents. Apple and tree.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
YellowKing wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:24 am
However, I think there's probably a LARGE number of Trump supporters who are more accurately described as *uninformed*. They don't watch the news, they don't read newspapers. They voted for him on the basis of the campaign rhetoric, and they still support him because that's who they voted for. They couldn't tell you the first thing about steel tariffs or Mueller investigations.
Or they only watch Fox News...which gets you basically the same thing.
Misinformed is much worse than uninformed. As Mark Twain said, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble, it's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
YellowKing wrote: ↑Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:24 am
However, I think there's probably a LARGE number of Trump supporters who are more accurately described as *uninformed*. They don't watch the news, they don't read newspapers. They voted for him on the basis of the campaign rhetoric, and they still support him because that's who they voted for. They couldn't tell you the first thing about steel tariffs or Mueller investigations.
Or they only watch Fox News...which gets you basically the same thing.
Misinformed is much worse than uninformed. As Mark Twain said, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble, it's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
