Legal experts analyzing the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey believe the intentional leaking of memos involving President Trump, along with the manipulation he used to “prompt the appointment of a special counsel,” may lead to his own legal troubles.
Some critics view Comey’s admissions as a “deliberate and vendetta driven-plot,” one which requires an investigation by itself.
“My judgment was I needed to get [the memos] out into the public square,” Comey confessed. “So, I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. I didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.”
That is a point of contention with some experts who view it as an action not legally protected.
Via the Washington Times:
It was reported as a damaging day for the White House, but the frank, dramatic admission by fired FBI Director James B. Comey last week about how he managed to put his confidential conversations with President Trump on the front page of the nation’s newspapers has some legal experts saying Mr. Comey may be in trouble himself over unauthorized leaking.
Critics of Mr. Comey say his calculated formulation and leak of the memos through a third party suggest his actions were part of a deliberate and vendetta-driven plot — crossing dangerous lines regarding the classification of government documents and FBI conduct. They say Mr. Comey should be investigated too.
While they’ve mentioned possible violations of the Espionage Act, or prosecutable breaches of FBI protocol, the real point of controversy centers on Mr. Comey’s admission that he leaked his memos to “prompt the appointment of a special counsel” — which happened soon after the substance of his memos went public. This, they say, exposes his action as more of a self-serving Washington operator, than a move legally protected by the former head of the FBI.
Critics claim that Comey’s use of an intermediary to leak information to the New York Times proves the fired FBI Director engaged in “a multistep plot to take the down the president.”
It was clear immediately that the President was not pleased with Comey’s admission that he had leaked the information.
Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication…and WOW, Comey is a leaker!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017
The President further hinted that Comey had a far more frequent history of leaking information to the media.
I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very ‘cowardly!’
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2017
Fox News reported that President Trump’s legal team “may be prepared to show a trail of leaks to The New York Times by former FBI Director James Comey – dating back to at least March.”
If true, then that would almost certainly indicate a cold and calculated effort to “take down the President.”
Comey’s testimony, designed to disparage and damage the President, may have backfired in a big way.
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