Trump Allegedly Wants FBI To Look Into Locking Up Journalists Who Publish Leaks

from the because-of-course-that-would-be-his-solution dept

Thu, May 18th 2017 9:34am — Tim Cushing

It's been another busy week for our president. Following on the heels of his revelation that he fired FBI Director James Comey over the ongoing Russian ties investigation (and following on the heels of Trump's tweeted threat about secret recordings of conversations with Comey), the FBI's acting director said the investigation is still ongoing, a special counsel was picked to oversee the investigation, and people close to Comey hinted the FBI might have some recordings of its own that undercut the president's narrative.

President Trump asked the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting.

“I hope you can let this go,” the president told Mr. Comey, according to the memo.

It's a record, of sorts, if not an actual recording. And it's done the way the FBI prefers to memorialize things (including testimony and "custodial interviews") -- on paper, rather than with other, less-biased recording devices. And, again, this is hearsay on top of hearsay: unnamed people claiming they read a piece of paper purporting to be a record of a conversation between Comey and the president. Grains of salt and all that, and despite what many are claiming all over the internet, really not a strong indicator of actual instruction, which could be an impeachable offense.

Mr. Comey shared the existence of the memo with senior F.B.I. officials and close associates. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey’s associates read parts of it to a Times reporter.

Buried way, way down in the New York Times story is some more hearsay. This time it's Trump allegedly suggesting something should be done about that pesky press he's always complaining about. But, like the scenario above, it still sounds very much like something President Trump would say in a personal meeting he thought wouldn't be turned into an office memo.

Alone in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump began the discussion by condemning leaks to the news media, saying that Mr. Comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information, according to one of Mr. Comey’s associates.

James Comey was no fan of the press, but he did at least defend journalists (sort of) at a recent hearing. He doesn't like seeing leaks published, but pointed out to legislators more interested in shooting the messenger that the person leaking the documents is the criminal, not the press, at least in the eyes of the DOJ.

But the DOJ is no longer the DOJ, so to speak. It's now being run by someone who wants to turn back the clock to the mid-1980s and start the drug war all over again. It's apparently engaged in twisting the law into a Wikileaks-prosecuting pretzel, despite Comey's assurances about messengers not being shot. And the administration has made it clear it's in the business of hunting down leakers, perhaps with the goal of unseating President Obama at the top of the "most whistleblowers prosecuted" list.

At this point, it's all just secondhand (Oval) office chatter. But considering the animosity Trump has shown towards the press and free speech in general, it's worth noting. And it always seems like every Trump denial or assertion has been followed by a leaked document to the contrary, so I'd be surprised if Comey's memo isn't made public within the next few days -- either by being leaked to journalists or presented at the hearings Comey has been asked to attend. This administration's contempt and hatred for the press has been undisguised. Donald Trump may be unable to change the Constitution, but that doesn't mean he and his handpicked agency heads won't spend the next few years making journalists' lives miserable.

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Filed Under: donald trump, fbi, free press, free speech, james comey, journalists, leaks

38 Comments

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Anonymous Anonymous Coward (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 9:40am

Temporal Anomoly

But the DOJ is no longer the DOJ, so to speak. It's now being run by someone who wants to turn back the clock to the mid-1980s and start the drug war all over again.

Well, if they start all over again, they might be able to win this time. Of course, they might need to redefine 'win'. In the mean time, the damage being done by this 'undeclared war' would become immensely greater.
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- Baron von Robber, 18 May 2017 @ 10:11am
  
  Re: Temporal Anomoly
  The DOJ is run by the love child of Doby, the Elf, and a Confederate flag.
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Roger Strong (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 10:07am

This should be interesting to prosecute:

Prosecution: The defendant leaked secret information about the Trump administration.

Defense: The Trump administration has stated repeatedly that the story isn't true. Therefore it's not a leak.

Prosecution: Trump has just contradicted his staff and told Fox News that the leaked story is true.

Defense: Goddammi...

Judge: And now he's tweeted that it's false, and a witch hunt.

Defense: And the Russian government is backing him up.

Defendant: Can I go home until this is resolved?
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- Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 11:13am
  
  Re:
  It's both!
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  - Roger Strong (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 11:40am
    
    Re: Re:
    Ah. Schrödinger's Defendant. Simultaneously both guilty and not guilty.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 9:08am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Nope. In this country we'd lock up him just to be sure we got the bad guy, so he's guilty by default.
      
      (Yes, the US is a guilty until proven innocent state. What? You thought just because we wrote the opposite on a piece of paper that we somehow practiced what we preached? HA! If you believe that rhetoric, let me show you what else we say, but ignore in practice....)
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- DannyB (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 11:51am
  
  Re:
  Planting doubt. Saying it's true and not true. Offering multiple contradictory explanations. Disinformation at its best. I wonder which country's spy apparatus Trump learned such disinformation games from?
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  - Anonymous Anonymous Coward (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 1:08pm
    
    Re: Re:
    The Press!
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    - Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 2:18pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Close, but no cigar!
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Baron von Robber, 18 May 2017 @ 10:13am

#6 of the 14 characteristics of fascism.
"Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. "
https://ratical.org/ratville/CAH/fasci14chars.html
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Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 10:17am

So essentially, reporters should check with the government before publishing anything in order to prevent sensitive or incorrect information from getting out.

Perhaps Trump should take his own advice.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 10:17am

That is what you get for having a Department of Justice
Justice is a malleable thing and now we get to see what Trump Justice™ is like as dispensed by the government of the United States.
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- OA (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 11:17am
  
  Re: That is what you get for having a Department of Justice
  Justice is malleable in the same way shoes are malleable. Work has to be done to make it fit properly.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 10:38am

Even if his notes say what is being claimed, could it be a blackmail attempt if Trump ever fired Comey? Lo and behold, Comey is fired because he’s a screwup that everyone has been saying and boom!, there’s the mine he laid. Comey’s notes can say anything. This has all the marks of a disgruntled employee.
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- Roger Strong (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 10:57am
  
  Re:
  This has all the marks of Donald Trump. It's 100% consistent with everything he's said in public. Repeatedly. At rallies. In interviews. In his tweets. Etc.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Thad, 18 May 2017 @ 12:11pm
  
  Re:
  
  Comey is fired because he’s a screwup that everyone has been saying
  
  Your talking points are a week old. Did you miss the Lester Holt interview? Comey was fired because of the Russia investigation; Trump said as much, on national television.
  
  Comey’s notes can say anything. This has all the marks of a disgruntled employee.
  
  Yeah! What has Trump ever said that indicates he thinks the press should suffer legal punishments for publishing stories he doesn't like?
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- Kay (profile), 22 May 2017 @ 1:17pm
  
  Re:
  Comey has controlled the media conversation on this very closely, it's sort of fascinating. What a calculating man he must be! I would love to have him coaching me when I have political battles at work.
  
  He's been having hints leaked to the press that he might have tapes of his own, of some conversations. If that turns out to be the case... whoa.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 10:44am

During their recent visit, the turks gave trump a copy of their new book,
"Dictatoring for Idiots"
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DannyB (profile), 18 May 2017 @ 11:52am

Trump is NOT trying to obstruct justice!
He's just trying to put a stop to it.
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 6:46am
  
  Re: Trump is NOT trying to obstruct justice!
  Comey isn't even an investigator, all he does is read briefs on current on-going investigations and has direct power over the delegation of resources towards investigations.
  
  Firing him changes nothing except that perhaps the investigation into Hillary and the DNC might be reopened...Which it should be since it's pretty self-evident that Seth Rich was assassinated for his involvement in the DNC leaks to Wikileaks of which we now have tangible evidence thanks to the private investigator hired by his parents.
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  - Phalen, 19 May 2017 @ 10:20am
    
    Re: Re: Trump is NOT trying to obstruct justice!
    
    Firing him changes nothing except that perhaps the investigation into Hillary and the DNC might be reopened...Which it should be since it's pretty self-evident that Seth Rich was assassinated for his involvement in the DNC leaks to Wikileaks of which we now have tangible evidence thanks to the private investigator hired by his parents.
    
    Oh come on, man. That story was debunked in a few hours by the private investigator himself and the family. From the PI:
    
    "But Tuesday afternoon, Wheeler told CNN he had no evidence to suggest Rich had contacted Wikileaks before his death.
    
    Wheeler instead said he only learned about the possible existence of such evidence through the reporter he spoke to for the FoxNews.com story. He explained that the comments he made to WTTG-TV were intended to simply preview Fox News' Tuesday story."
    
    And from the family:
    
    But a spokesman for Rich’s family said there’s a gaping hole in the Fox 5 D.C.’s report: That private investigator, Rod Wheeler, doesn’t have access to Rich’s laptop.
    
    “We know where Seth’s personal computer is. We know where his DNC computer is. Neither [Rod Wheeler] nor anybody else has it,” Brad Bauman, who is representing the Rich family, told The Daily Beast.
    
    Please tell me you don't actually exercise your right to vote. If you're dumb enough to still believe batshit Clinton conspiracies, you need professional help.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 2:46pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Trump is NOT trying to obstruct justice!
      Well I see you're already brainwashed by all of the disinformation floating around.
      
      So here are a videos of him speaking about it:
      
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grkK33chJkw
      
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuRJDKEVxHY
      
      Uh yeah, I don't see him or his family saying any of the things you've quoted nor is there any evidence that he ever spoke to CNN about it.
      
      "Please tell me you don't actually exercise your right to vote. If you're dumb enough to still believe batshit Clinton conspiracies, you need professional help."
      
      Right back at you.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 1:57pm

“I hope you can let this go,” The party of Hate is too lazy to take care of the peoples business, but has a sufficient amount of time and money to burn.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 4:40pm

In practice, the US Constitution means whatever the USSC says it does.

So, with "Fascism Forever" Gorsuch on the court, along with Alito/Thomas/Roberts/Kennedy: yes, they can change the Constitution.

Y'all are screwed. The only question now is if the US will pull the rest of the world down with it.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 May 2017 @ 6:37pm

" but that doesn't mean he and his handpicked agency heads won't spend the next few years making journalists' lives miserable."

They're going to have a hard time doing that from federal prison.
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richard sabor, 18 May 2017 @ 9:11pm

someones lying Comey on Youtube saying NEVER pressured!
You do understand Comey is on youtube THIS MONTH saying nobody pressured him....someones lying and maybe Comey is committing perjury again.

But Comey says it didn't happen on YOUTUBE why cant the fake news media cover this?

I just listen to what Comey says to find out whats really TRUE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OgDai05bkU
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- That One Guy (profile), 19 May 2017 @ 2:07am
  
  Like taking a crazy-bat to the head
  Good ghandi that comment section...
  
  I'm not sure if I should be laughing or horrified when the top rated comment was talking about marching soldiers into congress and forcing them to 'do what it right'.
  
  The comment in question: 'Trump needs to do what Octavian Augustus did after they killed Caesar, march his soldiers into the senate and force the traitor senators to do what is right!' -OctoMan PC's
  
  And the rest... yeah. Just... yeah.
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Kronomex, 19 May 2017 @ 12:32am

I see, lock up the journos and not the people within his own cabinet that are providing the leaks to the journos in the first place. Brilliant plan.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 4:58am

Of course, this would note apply to newspapers outside of the United States who did this. Because all of Swoden's leaks were given to newspapers in Hong Kong and Britain, those publications are only subject to the laws of those countries.

So, under these guidelines, The Guardian would have been not subject to US laws, since the paper is a British company.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 6:20am

Hoping he would let it go is not the same as 'ordering' him to let it go.

Democrats are losing their shit.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 6:28am

"This administration's contempt and hatred for the press has been undisguised."

Funny, Obama had the same contempt for all conservative news organizations but as soon as these 'over-privileged' so-called news organizations get called out for the fake news that they are, all of a sudden they're the victims?

You reap what you sow.

It seems to me the only ones complaining are Establishment media companies...Meanwhile, the floors have been opened up to smaller news organizations and independent journalists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmSSgtBe-CE
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 8:26am
  
  Re:
  So your rebuttal is..... but but but Obama? Not an award winning arguement methinks.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 8:06am

Any one remember James Rosen or AP reporters?
Trump is a threat?
Selective memory ...

Remember the outrage when James Rosen (reporter) was name a possible conspirator in a leak investigation? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-scheer/james-rosen-fox-news-emails_b_3350853.html
Or when phone records of AP reporters were under subpoena?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Department_of_Justice_investigations_of_reporters
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- Thad, 19 May 2017 @ 1:38pm
  
  Re: Any one remember James Rosen or AP reporters?
  
  So your rebuttal is..... but but but Obama? Not an award winning arguement methinks.
  
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 10:23am

ALLEGEDLY? Really, your whole basis for this piece begins by admitting it's a made up smear?
A new low for even Techdirt.
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- Thad, 19 May 2017 @ 1:37pm
  
  Re: ALLEGEDLY? Really, your whole basis for this piece begins by admitting it's a made up smear?
  That's not what "allegedly" means.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2017 @ 2:51pm
    
    Re: Re: ALLEGEDLY? Really, your whole basis for this piece begins by admitting it's a made up smear?
    It's still without proof and until there's proof, it's 'a made up smear.'
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    - Thad, 19 May 2017 @ 4:41pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: ALLEGEDLY? Really, your whole basis for this piece begins by admitting it's a made up smear?
      Nope, still not what "allegedly" means.
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