A newly uncovered memo from the former Acting FBI Director just revealed Donald Trump’s real reasons for firing James Comey last year, setting off a Special Counsel investigation into obstruction of justice and to continue the Russia election probe.
Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe wrote a series of memos that have already been reported, but the New York Times obtained a new missive.
McCabe’s latest memorandum says that Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein told him the President demanded a “cover” letter to explain firing James Comey which also included clearing him personally in the Russia probe. The Times reports on the documented version of events that fateful day:
[The Deputy Attorney General] said the president had originally asked him to reference Russia in his memo, the people familiar with the conversation said. Mr. Rosenstein did not elaborate on what Mr. Trump had wanted him to say.
To Mr. McCabe, that seemed like possible evidence that Mr. Comey’s firing was actually related to the F.B.I.’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, and that Mr. Rosenstein helped provide a cover story by writing about the Clinton investigation.
Special Counsel Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation against President Trump centers on whether he used his powers of office to fire former FBI Director Comey with corrupt intent, with the goal of derailing his Russia probe.
Andrew McCabe’s memo seems to add very strong fuel to the fire by confirming that Trump took official action in his own case and it was related to Russia, which will bolster any testimony he gives in upcoming trials.
It’s probably the main reason that the President debased his office to run a personal smear campaign against the career FBI official and then, very publicly, fired him on his birthday, to deny him special pension benefits after a negative Inspector General’s report came out.
Trump told NBC’s Lester Holt – a registered Republican – in a televised interview (below) that Russia was the reason that he fired Comey.
President Trump even told the Russians himself, in person, when he probably thought nobody was watching inside the Oval Office that he felt relieved over the election campaign investigation now that Comey was fired.
That was just one day after the firing.
Now, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani – who is himself a participant and witness of the campaign’s events – is even admitting publicly this year that the President’s desperate firing came about because the FBI Director wouldn’t clear him in the Russia probe.
Recent news reports have also focused on Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ key role in the obstruction of justice probe, highlighted by no less than eight questions Mueller would like answered about him, which were released by the President’s criminal defense lawyers one month ago today.
Donald Trump is desperate to end any probes into the Russia election attacks that helped him get elected in 2016.
Because any way you spell it, Mueller’s election probe has already dredged up more than enough evidence to show that it’s official, Vladimir Putin directed Russia’s government to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
Watch Trump admit on national television that he was thinking of ending the probe into Russia’s election attacks when he fired FBI Director Comey:
Since Donald Trump can’t seem to accurately remember why he fired Jim Comey, here’s video of him telling Lester Holt it was because Russia. pic.twitter.com/O7Rxg5rLKd
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) April 18, 2018
