Exclusive: Sources familiar with James Comey’s thinking say that today’s explosive testimony was planned in advance as part of the counterintelligence operation against Russia’s attack on the United States.
James Comey knew in advance he was going to be fired, these sources say, when Trump threatened him. At that point, the Director set in place countermeasures to protect the FBI”s investigation from Trump’s interference.
These included discussions with future key players at the Department of Justice and the FBI, these sources say, including Acting Director McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein.
It was further anticipated by Director Comey, these sources say, that the Trump team would both try to access FBI data and pass it to Russian intelligence. As we earlier reported exclusively, data from Director Comey’s computer was both taken by the Trump Team and passed to the Russians. The property of the United States was then recovered, these sources say. Separate sources with links to the Justice Department say, without being definitive, that it is thought that Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered an IT ‘audit’ of Director Comey’s electronics, and so the data may have been lawfully collected in a way that would not raise suspicions. Removable media containing data from Director Comey’s computer was then passed to the Russians, sources with links to the intelligence community confirm, adding that the said data has been recovered.
Director Comey anticipated further both that Donald Trump would boast he had tapes on him, and that he, Comey, would be called to Congress to give the sensational testimony he has given today under oath. Comey is highly sensitized to the value of television and the news cycle, sources familiar with his thinking say. He had reluctantly become so, after understanding the crucial role the data laundering of Donald Trump played in the election. Comey therefore decided to wait until his live televised hearing to reveal some of his knowledge about the Russian hacking investigation to the public in order that its impact not be diminished. Indeed, with partisans of both parties seeking to blame Comey for their failures, the Director had become convinced that if he were not dismissed the investigation might focus too much on him and not enough on the foreign and domestic enemies of the United States. While he was angered at the manner of his firing, sources report, Director Comey regarded the situation with the dispassionate eye of a chess player sacrificing a rook to back his opponent into a corner. Both Donald Trump and his Russian handlers fell into line, up to and including their concentration on lines in yesterday’s written testimony, which catfished Russian partisans into repeating ‘obstruction of justice’ until the concept was firmly affixed in the public’s mind. This left Comey open to detailing how Trump obstructed justice without using the term, today.
Director Comey was able to tell the public, using the GLOMAR technique, that both Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions are under criminal investigation for treason with Russia, and that both obstructed justice. Such a killer blow could not have been dealt – at least not so easily – had Trump and his Russian allies had the good sense to leave Director Comey to do his job.
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