What we learned and didn’t learn from James Comey’s testimony

Numerous questions were asked and a lot of information was shared, but an observation we can all agree on: It was a spectacle, both for the participants and the spectators.

Here are a few hot takes to share with friends at happy hour, your neighbor on the other side of the fence, or your seat partner on the Metro. Choose wisely.

Things we learned:

Wait for it…

Trump can hold his fire if he really wants to.

Despite his intention to live-tweet the hearing, Trump didn’t. Many say it actually made him seem more presidential and look like the bigger man.

But the silence didn’t last long.

“You can’t sit with us.”

…is what the Democrats used to say to James Comey (shout out to Hillary Clinton and her finger pointing on May 2!), but it seems they’ve changed their minds.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., opened her line of questioning: “Mr. Comey, I just want you to know that I have great respect for you…You’re a man of strength.”

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., empathized by noting: “I believe the timing of your firing stinks.”

And the DNC provided us with a Tale of Two Democrat Parties—they hated Comey before they loved him.

Liar!

Comey thinks Trump has a Pinocchio problem:

“And although the law required no reason at all to fire an FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies, plain and simple.”

When asked, “What was [it] about that meeting that led you to determine that you needed to start putting down a written record?” Comey said, “I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting so I thought it important to document.”

Comey and the NYT leak

If you want something done,
ask a professor friend from Columbia to do it for you.

Perhaps one of the most shocking admissions to come out of the hearing was that Comey had his BFF leak (possibly classified) documents to the New York Times to cover his rear–a paper he admitted ran a false story on Trump colluding with the Russians. WUT?

Things we didn’t learn (because we knew them already):

Never fear, Captain Courageous is here!

Despite Feinstein’s line, “you’re big. You’re strong,” Comey admitted he didn’t have the courage to confront Trump when he made the initial request about Mike Flynn:

Marco Rubio: At the time, did you say something to the president about, that is not an appropriate request, or did you tell the White House counsel, it’s not an appropriate request? Someone needs to tell the president he can’t do these things.

Comey: I didn’t, no.

Rubio: Why?

Comey: I don’t know. I think — as I said earlier, I think the circumstances were such that it was — I was a bit stunned and didn’t have the presence of mind. I don’t know. I don’t want to make you sound like I’m captain courageous. I don’t know if I would have said to the president with the presence of mind, “Sir, that’s wrong.” In the moment, it didn’t come to my mind. What came to my mind is be careful what you say. I said, “I agree Flynn is a good guy.”

Comey didn’t “have the presence of mind” as the FBI director. AS THE FBI DIRECTOR.

In fact, Comey was such a coward that Comey admitted Comey was a coward…

The mainstream media is biased.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but…

This hearing, and the whole Comey saga, magnified an already magnified problem—the mainstream media will rush to conclude the worst as long as it fits their narrative.

Comey confirmed during questioning that the New York Times printed a lie when it ran a story claiming the Trump campaign had contacts with the Russians. Ok, not a surprise. But the New York Times’ response when caught is unreal–they don’t care, they’re going to do what they want.

Sadly, the New York Times isn’t alone in its bias. MSNBC got in on the fun, retweeting this tweet on Twitter before they had to delete it.

Perhaps the most blatant of all media bias is the point made many times today–nearly everything was leaked except for the one thing Democrats found politically inconvenient: Comey admitted Trump wasn’t under investigation.

Congratulations, D.C. You win nerdiest city…again.

D.C. is a city of nerds confirmed, once again, by the hype surrounding a congressional hearing.

To capitalize on the excitement, several bars hosted viewing parties with drink specials. Never mind that his testimony started at 10 am on a Thursday. In a city of nerds, we will not pass up an opportunity to talk politics with a side of alcohol. Timing be damned.

Beverly Hallberg (@BevHallberg) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is president of District Media Group.

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