I actually read this back in 2018 when it first came out. Was prepared to be at best neutral but actually found myself liking the guy and what he had to say. He touched on his own background, too, including being bullied as a child, and the surely demoralizing period of time when he worked for and was fired by Donald Trump.
I made a long string of posts but here are just a few takeaways I noted on my Facebook page:
A bit more from Comey book.
1. Comey constantly revisits need of FBI to stay at arm's length from politics. Trump making that difficult. Comey's assessment of him was that he seemed to be "a deeply insecure man, which made it impossible for him to demonstrate humility, and he seemed very unlikely to be confident and humble enough to ask the 'What am I missing' question at the heart of sound judgment.
2. "There has always been a line. The intelligence community does facts; the White House does politics and spin, and does it on its own." Concerns that Trump team trying to pull FBI into that spin.
3.When told about the Russian dossier and allegations, Trump's reaction was dismissive. Seemed to ignore Comey's assurances that whether it happened or not, the FBI didn't care. That what was important was that it not be used against Trump somehow, to influence him in any way. Trump's reaction was to ask if he looked like the kinda guy who needed prostitutes. Without it being brought up, Trump segued into the many sexual assault allegations against him. Meeting lasted maybe five minutes and Comey met Jared for the first time on the way out of the offices. The news about the dossier was soon leaked and not by FBI.
Oh, I could say so much but, well, this has been hashed to death on the media. It is pretty clear tho' that Trump just doesn't have the whatever it takes to see the big picture and accept that everything that happens isn't about him, him, him.
Another Facebook post the same day"
I .read a bit more of the Comey book last night. Notes from it:
1. Russia "sought to undermine confidence in the American democratic enterprise--to dirty us up so that our election process would no longer be an inspiration to the world." Boy, my take, Trump is sure helping them.
2. Putin wanted to hurt Clinton cos blamed her for comments made in Dec. 2011 that he felt were a sort of secret signal to Russian opposition to criticize and oppose him. Me, "Gads, is he as paranoid as Trump?"
3. Putin wanted to help Trump who Putin appreciated for his willingness to cast aside ideals rather than stand on principle. Me, "Gee, nice tribute there, Trump."
More:
Comey book reactions. This one, in particular, struck me: Comey doesn't recall ever seeing Trump laugh. "I suspect his apparent inability to do so is rooted in deep insecurity, his inability to be vulnerable, or to risk himself by appreciating the humor of others which, on reflection, is really sad in a leader, and a little scary in a president."
He does recall one sorta laugh, Trump's reaction to someone in an audience shouting out that a dog barking must be Hillary.
No comments:
Post a Comment