As he so often does, Trump took an already controversial decision last week and turned it into an absolute firestorm with one simple tweet. With Democrats already working themselves into a tizzy over the 'suspicious' timing of James Comey's abrupt dismissal, the cries of "witness intimidation" and comparisons to the Nixon administration quickly reached a fevered pitch from the Left with Trump's release of the following tweet:
James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
In fact, we're almost certain that Trump's tweet, at least in part, prompted the The American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) to file its Freedom of Information Act request today with the DOJ and FBI asking for all records related to President Trump’s dismissal of FBI Director James Comey. Painting White House interference with the ongoing FBI investigation of "Russian hacking" as a foregone conclusion, the ACLU's press release said that "the public has a right to know why Comey was fired so the president can be held accountable for any abuse of his position."
“White House interference with any FBI investigation is incompatible with democratic safeguards, and that’s especially the case when the investigation involves the president or his associates. Political meddling with law enforcement investigations is a recipe for abuse of power,” said ACLU Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project. “The public has a right to know why Comey was fired so the president can be held accountable for any abuse of his position. It’s impossible to know the truth right now because the Trump administration has issued shifting explanations, each of which is increasingly troubling.”
Among other things, the ACLU referenced the White House's rapidly changing story on the events leading up to Comey's dismissal as the primary reason for their FOIA request.
According to the initial White House accounts, the President dismissed Mr. Comey based on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Subsequent accounts indicate that the President had already decided to fire Mr. Comey, and that he sought assistance from the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General to justify his decision. The Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General ultimately prepared memoranda asserting that Mr. Comey had mishandled the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server and had violated Department of Justice policies when he publicly announced the results of that investigation. Previously, however, both President Trump and Attorney General Sessions had lauded Mr. Comey’s actions in that investigation. Moreover, in an interview on May 11, 2017, President Trump stated that he had fired Mr. Comey because, “He’s a showboat, he’s a grandstander,” and that he was going to “fire [Mr. Comey] regardless of recommendation.” President Trump also stated that he had the Russia investigation in mind when he fired Mr. Comey. Subsequently, President Trump suggested that he may have taped his conversations with Mr. Comey. Media accounts indicate that Mr. Comey had requested additional resources for the FBI’s investigation in the days before he was dismissed.
In short, the White House’s explanations for firing Mr. Comey have shifted significantly over a matter of days, and the public does not know the actual basis for this decision. The public is entitled to know the real reasons for President Trump’s decision to fire Mr. Comey. The public is also entitled to know the role played by the Department of Justice in this dismissal, as well as any concerns or objections raised within the Department of Justice or the FBI.
The President’s actions and shifting justifications threaten the rule of law. As the President himself suggested in an interview, by firing Mr. Comey, he sought to hasten an end to the FBI’s ongoing investigation into his own campaign.
Oddly, we don't recall the ACLU being quite so outraged when actual facts came to light that Hillary intentionally destroyed evidence despite the existence of a Congressional subpoena demanding its preservation.
Here is the full FOIA request:
http://www.scribd.com/embeds/348433669/content