What we know Trump did this week and why it matters
THE NEWS this week emerged in such fits and starts, and with such shifting explanations, that its grave implications may not have sunk in for many Americans. It is worth reviewing what we know:
(1) President Trump fired the director of the FBI, in the fourth year of his 10-year term, because the president was upset that Mr. Comey was leading an FBI investigation of possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016. The investigation was gaining momentum as Mr. Trump struck.
(2) Mr. Trump initially misrepresented the reason for the firing and allowed other members of his administration, including Vice President Pence, to grossly misinform Congress and the public. Mr. Trump’s initial letter gave the impression that he was acting on a recommendation from the Justice Department and that Mr. Comey was fired for mishandling the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails. “It was all him,” spokesman Sean Spicer said, referring to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. “That was a DOJ [Department of Justice] decision,” he said. Mr. Pence portrayed Mr. Rosenstein as initiating the action — he “came to work, sat down and made the recommendation” — and Mr. Trump as simply “accepting” it.
By Thursday, in his interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Mr. Trump was acknowledging that he decided to fire Mr. Comey before soliciting and receiving any recommendations and that the Clinton emails were not his motivation. “When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-we-know-trump-did-this-week--and-why-it-matters/2017/05/12/3dcca57c-3727-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html?utm_term=.aa2ed3c6d1eb&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
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