Russian meddling in American elections has sparked a beautiful and influential relationship between former FBI Director James Comey and Benjamin Wittes.
An editor of the Lawfare blog, Wittes meets and occasionally speaks for the beleaguered lawman. Because of that relationship, his analysis of the FBI director’s written testimony comes closest to the real opinion of Comey, unvarnished by niceties and unburdened by legal considerations.
So what’s his take? Comey didn’t trust Trump from the very beginning. And while the FBI director “admired” Obama and for seemingly valid reasons, he wasn’t ready to give his new boss the benefit of the doubt.
After meeting with Trump, Comey would whip out his laptop and type up memoranda. “Indeed,” Wittes writes, “it contrasts sharply with his interactions with Obama, who he admired a great deal.” And by Comey’s own admission, his friend is right.
The FBI director rarely met with Obama, speaking with him twice in person, and by Comey’s telling “in neither of those circumstances did I memorialize the discussions.” But each instance he met with Trump, three times in person and six times over the telephone, Comey apparently took notes.
Even without Wittes translating, it’s easy to understand why from Comey’s seven pages of written testimony. Trump demanded “loyalty” and pressed him “to let this go,” regarding the investigation of former White House national security advisor, Gen. Mike Flynn. Eventually things got so bad according to the testimony, that Comey asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to leave him alone with the president.
“In other words,” Wittes translates, “Comey is saying here how little he trusted Trump from the beginning, and that Trump’s behavior caused him to behave differently than he had in the past.”
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
