McCain confirms he gave the Steele dossier to Jim Comey

[RockaFowler]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

INTERESTING: In his new book, @SenJohnMcCain confirms he gave the Steele dossier to Jim Comey, and defends his role in its getting to the FBI. "I did what duty demanded I do," he writes.

MCCAIN WRITES: "Even a remote risk that the President of the United States might be vulnerable to Russian extortion had to be investigated."

[SunSeeker]

1. K & R

[Hortensis]

59. It's a very dramatic story, but an old one. Steele,

whose life was potentially in grave danger, got no response from the FBI after he sent part of the dossier to contacts he had there. He'd expected the FBI to respond immediately, and silence was a frightening aberration. He took it to Mother Jone's David Korn, known to carefully protect his contacts, and ultimately McCain and the UK got involved to force action on it.

For reasons of credibility and what right wing media would spin it into, btw, it was important that a Republican handle this problem if possible. Ergo, McCain's involvement.

Also btw, note that Jim Comey was Director of the FBI at this time.

[RockRaven]

2. McCain to Trump: "I'm f*cking dying, come at me bro" nt

[mobeau69]

9. Good one!

[lastlib]

23. "But stay away from my funeral, you treasonous vile lying POS!"

John McCain may be one of the last GOPhers to have a shred of honor and decency.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

28. Honor and decency?! McCain?! Let's not go too far!! He's still a Rethug prick...

make no mistake. Just because he did the right thing, finally, in this one particular instance doesn't erase all the dishonorable, indecent thuggish behavior in his past.

[Scarsdale]

32. I agree.

He made fun of 14 year old Chelsea Clinton, and insulted President Obama. He is no "hero". He has always put himself first.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

38. Precisely... this is no time to be throwin' accolades at that POS.

McCain is not a hero in my book by a long shot for the reasons you stated and many others. And, the fact that he's dying of brain cancer is irrelevant... I don't rejoice in his terminal illness, but I don't have much sympathy for him either, certainly not enough to sing his praises... sorry, that's just honestly how I feel.

[IluvPitties]

42. Nobody's perfect.

Accept the good, reject the bad.

[secondwind]

55. How true.

[C Moon]

33. +1

[lastlib]

46. True on all counts. I won't say he is totally honest and decent...

...but on a few occasions, he has shown some honor and decency. Voting against Obamacare repeal was one instance, his action on the Steele dossier would be another. But these are few and far between; mostly, he's another repug devil.

[AdamGG]

49. Calling Jerry Falwell & Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance" is also on his highlight reel

And the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform bill.

The fact that his scattered moments of decency stand out is more a reflection of the complete moral bankruptcy of the Republican Party, but at least he had them.

[calimary]

71. The moment he corrected that woman who said Obama was an Arab.

McCain had the class and good grace to correct her right there on the spot. During one of those town hall events he hosted during the ‘08 campaign.

I could tell she didn’t really want to believe it, even from him. I didn’t know whether to feel disgust or pity. I wasn’t much of a fan of his. I feel the same about GOPers in general. But he went up quite a bit in my estimation because of that encounter.

[AdamGG]

72. Yeah, Trump would have applauded that woman and appointed her to head the EEOC.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

50. I think you pretty much summed up my feelings on this topic as well.

[mitch96]

35. " last GOPhers to have a shred of honor and decency."

I remember reading that in the '50's they were called "cloth coat Republicans".
m

[mucifer]

52. And President Obama has the honor of giving one of the eulogies.

I think that's more the kick in the teeth to trump than being told not to come.

It sure is a one two punch.

[lastlib]

61. (Or maybe he just wanted someone who could put together a coherent sentence....

...to offset GWB Dimson?)

[ryan_cats]

63. Oh yes, such a hero

Ask the people affected by the Lincoln S&L debacle about how much of a hero McCain is.

None of the Keating five faced any repercussions other than a reprimand.

[lastlib]

66. I remember that.

Certainly one of his less-than-honorable moments.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

31. Sad it comes to deaths door

for Mccain to REALLY do what he's known has been his duty for decades. Please go the extra mile John and tell your daughter to go home and quit the View. There is NO Fairness Doctrine anymore. I'm tired of hearing her mouth.
I'm sorry your'e sick Sen. please KEEP IT UP

[onlyadream]

34. The View made a big mistake hiring her

They can’t fire her because it would look bad with her dad dying. So they’re stuck with her (for a while).

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

36. Repubs ruin everything

ever notice?

[LakeArenal]

37. I find her so entertaining.

She is such a victim of Liberals. She takes everything so personally. Joy hands it to her and I think it was today Whoopi handed her a fist full. Love it. She got all up in Sarah’s face the other day, and because she can only hear herself talk Not realizing Sarah was trying to agree with her.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

40. Point is

Some things are just for us. Like a Liberal fun talk show. The repubs scream Fairness Doctrine...when they were the ones who killed it. How's it working out being so inclusive and utterly bending over backwards to accomodate hate mongers? She should be spending 24/7 with her Dad. He's the hero. She's...just a zero. I'm sick of the right wing ALWAYS thinking their entitled to have a voice everywhere. And it usually is such an ugly angle. This country isn't 1/2 and 1/2.
She should go on fox, but, something tells me her body type wouldn't be hired. Just sayin.

[LakeArenal]

41. You do have a point

I hate her friends like S C Crupp or whatever her name is.

And she does like to filibuster.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

44. SE....omg.

1 good point to 50 bad ones.
Re. Mrs Mcain, I couldn't care less about her body style, fox news(?) is the ones who own that.

[Sherman A1]

62. There is another option

Turn off the TV and you no longer need listen to her.

[Wednesdays]

64. True, but they can't turn off the TVs of millions

who will get brainwashed by drivel.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

67. I don't watch either

And Americans shouldn't have to turn off their favorite shows bc the gop insists on equal time for their nonsense. We can have nice things for ourselves wo constantly catering to a loud mouth.

[Sherman A1]

68. The difference here is that

I do not find any of these chatty infotainment shows at all interesting, so it is absolutely no loss for me. Perhaps there are those who do and good for them. As to being exposed to differing opinions (even ones that you or I would find ourselves to be disagreeable) I believe that is actually a good thing. If the show is bothering the poster, then they should do something about it (email in a comment, change the channel or turn off the TV) or accept that it will likely not change.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

69. Point is..

The gop voice is inhaled by folks of less means to think. You may not watch any of the shows. Me either, but, the point is that it shows that we just give in if some group is fussy, and nasty enough, via their platform and espousements(?) [have been shown to be wrong and socially destructive.], noone is better off. What exactly would be the "good part" of anything megan Mccain has to say about anything? And, more importantly, what social good do we do by letting stupid people get stupider, and pass that along to another generation of Americans who don't contribute much. Sorry. It's right before bed.
I don't know. I'm done talking about this though.

[Sherman A1]

70. I hope you sleep well

I’m curious as to who gets to decide as to what is appropriate for broadcast. You don’t like Megan McCain, fine, send an email with your reasoning to the network and should enough people do the same perhaps it will have some result. I however, do not believe that either of us gets to decide what she says or where she says it. I will not waste my time on her, but others have every right to listen and decide for themselves. I think that is how this country is supposed to work. If you believe differently, then you are certainly free to do so.

[wonkwest]

57. I know, it's kind of awesome

I'm not a super fan of McCain - he's done some good, done some bad. But I like how his don't-give-a-fuck is needling Trump. It's more entertaining than it ought to be.

"I'm fucking dying, come at me bro!" I shouldn't laugh at that, but I totally am. It's exactly what McCain is doing. Well, at least he's going out on a high note.

[Iliyah]

3. Oh snap!

[BigmanPigman]

4. Good for him!

The dossier and everything Avenatti have said has proven true so far.

[GusBob]

5. I thought this was common knowledge

After the FBI dilly-dallied, McCain stepped in had a aide fly to Europe to get it.

[FakeNoose]

6. Mr. Steele gave it to the FBI in July 2016, that was before even Hillary's people got it

Why didn't Comey already know about the Steele dossier? The agents must have sat on it, but that doesn't sound right.
Usually with the feds, everybody is on the same page.

[GusBob]

13. Yes he gave it to them

IIRC he gave it to them, then made an inquiry as to it's progress. When they dilly-dallied He became alarmed and sought out other folks. Somehow MCain heard about it and fetched it

[OnDoutside]

27. Yes I heard that a long time ago too. Didn't Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS say it ?

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

45. Sen Mccain

Spent many years in a Vietnamese POW Camp. Not one known for International Niceties(sp). Broken arms and the whole 9 yards. I think he had a LOT of time to review his life and what it means to sell out your country. Probably touched a deeply scared over nerve in him. My hats off.
ps.. bonespurs making a joke about him getting captured was repulsive. dts times coming.."in the barrel." He's not that smart. And starting a war isn't going to change a thing. It'll keep Pence busy until he's thrown out as well. Repubs a re self-centered. Repubs are self-centered.....learn the lesson and everything else falls into place.

[TheBlackAdder]

7. And here I thought that Trump would crash McCain's Funeral because he was told no. Not now.

[Ilsa]

8. I hope McCain lives long enough to see IQ45 indicted. nt

[mcar]

10. Interesting

[cbdo2007]

11. Then McCain voted with Trump on a bunch of stuff....

instead of demanding this get investigated.

Sorry I'm not on the love train for McCain. If he really REALLY wants to help and if he truly thinks something real is going on with Trump, he needs to filibuster the senate and make a giant media spectacle and put all of the Repubes on notice. He can't just act like he did a few things noble but then be hiding when he needs to be standing up. He is complicit in all of this, he's may be a hero for his service, but he is definitely NOT a hero for how he is treating Trump, though he's trying to rewrite history and make that his legacy.

[pangaia]

12. I then to agree with you.

[LisaM]

16. I agree with you. Same with Comey....

If they really want to act for the greater good, they both could have done that in a timely way.

And don't forget McCain picked Palin.

[politicaljunkie41910]

17. I don't think he's in shape to do that. When you're busy planning your funeral, me thinks the grim

reaper is not only knocking at your door, he's wiped his feet off on the door mat, and Meagan McCain heard the knock and is coming to open it and let him in.

[pnwmom]

21. He's too sick to filibuster the Senate. He's got the worst form of brain cancer

and it's in its final stages.

I don't think you've ever seen anyone die of gliobastoma before.

[cbdo2007]

39. Actually I had a very close relative die of the exact same thing.

The point here is that McCain is treating us all like fools to sell his book. He had his chance to stop this, now we're all fucked and he's acting like he had something to do with it.

[pnwmom]

43. And how would you feel if your very close relative was dying and strangers

were calling on him to save the country in his final days or weeks of life?

[cbdo2007]

48. If I thought he could do it, I would have expected him to.

[orangecrush]

24. Silliness

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

14. He then proceeded to do dick about it and as far as I know. Hasn't

bothered to stick up for Mr. Steele who has endured a right wing shit storm worthy of Valerie Plame. Maverick my nuts.

[Hekate]

18. You do know he's actively dying, right? That may have had something to do with it, or...

...like personally telling Comey about the existence of the Steele Dossier and then personally having it fetched from the UK, perhaps what McCain did was out of the public eye so it would not be all about him.

Just sayin'

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

22. Oh he is???!! I hadn't heard... Yes cancer is horrible.I know from experience. But the

syphilis in human form that was unleashed on this country by that piece of shit party is pretty damn horrible too, for the entire nation. How long before the cancer diagnosis did this happen? A year? More? My point is he had some time back then. he knew what these pack of traitors were. His voice would've been crucial in exposing these traitors. At least from appearances he seems to have played along and put all of us in danger.

But to your point. Yeah maybe he's been doing things behind the scenes. Maybe I'm being an asshole. An unfair one at that. I might be letting my anger get the best of me. Since these people seem to bring out the worst in almost anyone. And you're right that bringing the document to the FBI's attention was the right thing to do.

[Pope George Ringo II]

58. His role with the dossier does count to McCain's credit, with his naval service right alongside it.

And he's got some negatives, too, like his role in the Keating Five.

But I'm not sure that once in John McCain's life has he ever chosen to do something out of the public eye so it would not be all about him. For decades now you could get trampled to death by getting between him and a television camera.

[George II]

15. Policy positions notwithstanding, no one can deny that to McCain country comes first.

[dalton99a]

19. +1.

[orangecrush]

25. +2

[obnoxiousdrunk]

30. +1. Thank you.

[JI7]

51. yup, and if most republicans were like him we would be far better off

[Grins]

20. This is not new.

The FBI already had it. McCain didn't know that at the time and gave his copy to the FBI.

"The FBI reportedly received parts of the dossier not only before the public learned of it in January 2017, but also before Steele filed his final report on October 19, 2016. Early in August 2016, FBI agents in Rome reportedly received a copy of Steele’s first two reports. The dossier’s existence was first reported more than two months later, on October 31, when David Corn of Mother Jones wrote that “a former senior intelligence officer for a Western country who specialized in Russian counterintelligence … provided the bureau with memos, based on his recent interactions with Russian sources, contending the Russian government has for years tried to co-opt and assist Trump—and that the FBI requested more information from him.”

By December 2016, the completed document had made its way to Senator John McCain, who turned it over to FBI Director James Comey on December 9 (2016).

[Kurt V.]

26. oh no

RW talking points

[dameatball]

29. Most of us wish McCain had been more forceful and honest for a while now.

And his selection of Palin was a disaster.

But at this point if he wants to write his history, so be it. I won't buy the book, but I wish him a peaceful demise.

[BootinUp]

47. "Remote" my @ss. Nt

[BobTheSubgenius]

53. At times, I wanted to like him.

Just couldn't do it. Don't hate him, but I won't be sending flowers, either.

[Kablooie]

54. I first read this as "gave the Steele dossier to Jim Carey."

Thought McCain wanted to help him draw a new charicature.

[Utah Grizzlee]

56. Godspeed, Sir

[onecent]

60. Thank you Mr. McCain.!!!

[dreamland]

65. Whatever he is doing now will be undone

...by his daughter, Meghan, who is now a trumpeter for tRUMP.

[AdamGG]

73. I voted for McCain in the 2000 primary against Bush

Because Massachusetts lets you vote in either primary and I didn't have a strong preference between Al Gore and Bill Bradley. McCain was kind of a breath of fresh air in 2000 after passing campaign finance reform with Russ Feingold and denouncing Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and refusing to speak at Bob Jones University.

So many crossover Democrats did the same thing in that primary that I did that McCain beat Bush by around 77% to 23%. He killed his brand when he chose Sarah Palin as his VP.