We can't answer this thread without revealing classified information. Trumpery trumped.

[PerkingFaintly]

New thread, and here's the link to yesterday's hearing again.

Full transcript: Sally Yates and James Clapper testify on Russian election interference
www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/08/full-transcript-sally-yates-and-james-clapper-testify-on-russian-election-interference/?utm_term=.8b4eaf12c960

Comey had it coming.
I wonder what he'll say now. Or if he'll be asked to testify again.

Regardless of whether he had it coming, sessions fired comey, despite being recused from any current or future investigation into trump Russia AND any investigation into Clinton emails, which is the reason cited by sessions for firing comey.

That link about the arrested journalist again, in case anyone missed what it was about.

Reporter arrested at W.Va. Capitol during visit from Conway and Price
www.wsaz.com/content/news/Journalist-arrested-at-WVa-Capitol-during-visit-from-Conway-and-Price-421818203.html

What with the journalists arrested covering the post-inauguration demos, there seems to be a lot of this about right now...

I didn't mean he had it coming in the sense that he deserved it.
More that it was soon expected given his Russian investigation.
But they don't even try to disguise it properly.

Ah I see! Yes, someone on Rachel Maddow was saying that as sessions is still attorney general they could've found several other pretexts to fire him so it's bizarre that they would do something so explicitly egregious.

Reporting on the Today programme just now that the White House has been taken aback by the furore following Comey's sacking, with the comment that it shows naivety and/or serious misjudgement.

It's all really rather alarming. I'd be interested to hear from our US posters (when they wake up) what the general mood is amongst friends & colleagues etc.

Once again, I have nothing intelligent to add to this conversation as I'm so stunned as to how Trump is able to get away with yet another impeachable stunt. So much for checks and balances. Farewell democracy.

Utterly stunned by this. What kind of banana republic is the USA becoming? Leader of the Free World! Bloody terrifying.

I started re-reading The Handmaids Tale a couple of nights ago. The way things are going in the US, particularly all the nasty regressive stuff recently around policing women's bodies and fertility, I don't think its even 'futuristic' anymore. I know Atwood based it on real cases, but it does rather feel like we're on the cusp of a real life dystopic state.

Lurker, here. Does anyone know what the official reason for Comey's firing was? Apologies if I've missed it. All BBC are saying is WH said it had nothing to do with Russia.

The Handmaid's Tale is more optimistic than this shit. illegitimateMortificadospawn
Thanks for the beautiful thread. Still here ,Persisting.

On same day that Trump usurps US constitution, I expect CPS to waive electoral fraud charges against tories, which threatened legitimacy of their majority since 2015. Bannon and Nick Timothy (May's special adviser) in cahoots, I suspect.

Good morning all! Heard the Comey stuff all over R4 this morning. I felt that they dedicated a lot of time to it and covered it pretty heavily, which I thought was pretty significant. I do feel there seems to be a general tone of when he will go rather than if.

Claude Taylor predicted the firing too but

1. he also says it's too late. Subpoenas issued against Flynn's intelligence corp yesterday. Indictments ready

2. nothing will stop Schneiderman and the RICO charges

Comey to appear today but closed hearing

Trump is meeting Lavrov. TODAY. Bare faced cheek of it

honeysucklejasmine

The reasons given are the mishandling of the Clinton e-mails investigation last year, and supposedly poor morale in and reputation of FBI.

The reasons given are the mishandling of the Clinton e-mails investigation last year,

Not even Obama sacked him for that.

It's taken them even longer than for Flynn, though.

And the morale thing... Surely that's not because of Comey. I can't see it getting any better now. Sigh.

Supposedly he was fired for botching enquiries into emails sent by Hillary Clinton.

Good-ish explanation of the whole Comey saga if you read:
FBI chief James Comey fired by Trump
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39866170

Followed by here:
Hillary Clinton email probe - what was it about?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-37811529

Or try this timeline from the Washington Post:
Comey timeline: Everything that led up to his firing
www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/09/comey-timeline-everything-that-led-up-to-his-firing/?utm_term=.b1fae9b562b1

It's certainly the case that on top of his other interesting actions, he "misspoke" at last week's Senate hearing when he claimed that one of Hillary's aides had forwarded thousands of Hillary's emails to her husband's laptop.

James Comey’s Testimony on Huma Abedin Forwarding Emails Was Inaccurate
www.propublica.org/article/comeys-testimony-on-huma-abedin-forwarding-emails-was-inaccurate

None of it makes any sense.

I'm a political junkie and usually energised by this stuff, but what's happening in US and here is exhausting. It's though our democratic systems have just collapsed and no one really cares. At least the MSM in US are still standing. Here, the media have all but capitulated to TM and the Brexit madness.

None of it makes any sense.
I'm afraid it does if it's a coup/as it's a coup.

Trevor Noah's take on Comey's sacking: twitter.com/thedailyshow/status/862109967817383936

Anyone else think that our children/grandchildren may be answering history exam questions along the lines of

Discuss the influence of James Comey on the rise and fall of Donald Trump's brief presidency.

Discuss the influence of James Comey on the rise and fall of Donald Trump's brief presidency

Students might like to reference the archived MN threads on Trump which serve as a timeline of the Presidency.

I wondered what had happened to Conway but there she is, on CNN, pretending there is a rationale behind this latest outrage.

Last night at Colbert's it was a Daily Show reunion.

Just in time for Comey's sacking, so just a fairly brief mention.

Monologue
Jon Stewart

I imagine that today it will be on fire about it.

Thanks all, will peruse links this afternoon. This thread is invaluable for following events.

Exactly woman, and who few among us have any direct experience of coups and which of us could have seen this coming? How many people who don't follow politics in the way we are doing are sleeping walking into this.

I was appalled but not surprised that Trump won just because everyone was telling me that 'Trump couldn't possibly be president' and I could recall the exact same jokey sentiment in 1980 when Reagan was elected.

I've been following Sarah Kendizor on Twitter since Trump got the nomination and she has been spot on in her analysis and expectations. And yet, it still didn't and still doesn't seem real that this is happening.