Tuesday Night Blindside

James Comey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump came as a complete surprise to just about everyone.  What isn't clear is why it happened and what comes next.

Comey, it must be said, was not well liked by either Democrats or Republicans because he had a tendency to mess things up when it was least expected, and was known to say things he shouldn't have in public.  Having been appointed in the Obama administration in September 2013 with a ten-year position, he should have been above politics.

Instead, Comey more or less cost Hillary Clinton the presidency because of his late-October decision to reopen the investigation into what was in the private e-mail server of the former Secretary of State.

The removal of Comey came as Congress is investigating charges that the Russians meddled their way into the 2016 presidential election, and that Trump campaign staff may have been involved.  The most prominent victim thus far is Michael Flynn, who had only been National Security Adviser to the president for a couple of weeks before he was found to be colluding with the Russians during the transition period.  So yes, the timing is curious.

Congressional members, most of them Democrats, have been hollering about the need for a special prosecutor to handle this case.  With the dismissal of Comey, however, the President gets to pick his own candidate for not only the next FBI director, but also the special prosecutor if he chooses.  Which makes you wonder how independent this person is going to be, right?  As for Congress hiring its own prosecutor, what are they waiting for?  Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell's permission?

Trump is only the second President to fire the person who was launching an investigation against him.  The first was Richard Nixon.  Those of you with long memories will recall what happened on a Saturday night in October 1973.  Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy William Ruckleshaus were both let go for refusing Nixon's order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who refused to accept the White House's version of summaries of the Watergate tapes.  It took the Solicitor General to deliver the bad news to Cox.  Days later, eight impeachment resolutions were introduced in the House of Representatives as Nixon said he would turn over the disputed tapes.

Times and scandals are different, of course.  One was a botched robbery at a rival's campaign headquarters that led to a cover-up, an investigation, and a President who resigned.  Another was the alleged interference by a foreign government of an American presidential election, benefiting the man who currently resides in the White House, which has also grown into a cover-up and a crisis months into his administration.

What happens to the investigations now depends on who President Trump nominates as his new FBI director, and whether the agency and others will find enough evidence to convict the people responsible.  If the politicians care anything about the country, the investigations should continue.  Otherwise, there will be more blindsides to come.