I'm not sure I'm buying this explanation given by Rep. Cummings this morning on CNN's New Day that the reason Comey rushed to send his letter of ambiguity and interference to Republican committee chairman is because they threatened him within an inch of their careers back in July when he opted out of charges for Hillary Clinton.
Nevertheless, he does have a point. He also points to a double standard.
Of possible connections between Trump, Manafort and Russia, he said, “Members of Congress, including myself, have asked for months for the FBI to provide us with information as to whether Mr. Trump other associates and the Russian government have any coordination or connection with each other. Not one ounce of information has been given to Congress on it."
That would appear to contradict Harry Reid's claims made in a letter he sent to Comey where he specifically mentions knowledge of an FBI investigation into Manafort, Trump and his ties with Russia.
Nevertheless, Cummings is correct that it's a double standard, because of course it is! Clinton rules are a thing for Republicans, after all!
"You have Hillary Clinton and Ms. Abedin, who has cooperated with the FBI," he reminded. "Keep in mind when the FBI came before my committee, this is what the director said. He said ‘I had 20 of my all-star FBI agents, senior FBI agents, who agreed unanimously, that there was no reason to bring charges in and no reasonable prosecutor would do it."
In Cummings' opinion, Manafort, Trump and Clinton should be treated exactly the same way, except apparently the fear of God is only being hammered into Comey over the Clinton email case.
According to Cummings, there's a clear reason for that, too.
He speculated, “I think what has happened is that he knows that Republicans, if he makes any misstep the Republicans are going to be all over him and they’re going to try to bring harm to him.”
That promise from Republicans has apparently led him to make some really terrible decisions, including last Friday's.
So we're basically talking about political thuggery here. He didn't do what Republicans wanted in July, there's internal dissent and external pressure, and BAM! He drops a bomb in the middle of the election because if he doesn't, Republicans will kneecap him.
[h/t Raw Story]
