Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - June 7, 2017
From Ballotpedia
Trump Administration (first term)  Vice President Mike Pence Cabinet • White House staff • Transition team • Trump's second term |
Domestic affairs: Abortion • Crime and justice • Education • Energy and the environment • Federal courts • Firearms policy • First Amendment • Healthcare • Immigration • Infrastructure • LGBTQ issues • Marijuana • Puerto Rico • Social welfare programs • Veterans • Voting issues Economic affairs and regulations: Agriculture and food policy • Budget • Financial regulation • Jobs • Social Security • Taxes • Trade Foreign affairs and national security: Afghanistan • Arab states of the Persian Gulf • China • Cuba • Iran • Iran nuclear deal • Islamic State and terrorism • Israel and Palestine • Latin America • Military • NATO • North Korea • Puerto Rico • Russia • Syria • Syrian refugees • Technology, privacy, and cybersecurity |
| Polling indexes: Opinion polling during the Trump administration |
This is the June 7, 2017, edition of an email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition, cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.
Former FBI Director James Comey will appear in two hearings before the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow. The first will be an open hearing at 10:00 a.m.; the second will be a closed briefing at 1 p.m. Both will concern his knowledge of the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the election as well as his communication with Trump and his administration about that investigation.
Today’s edition of You’re Hired will cover:
- The basics of tomorrow’s public hearing,
- Some details to consider tomorrow,
- A timeline of how we got here.
You can read our overview of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election here.
Just the facts on tomorrow’s public hearing
When: Thursday, June 8, 10:00 a.m., EST Scope of inquiry: The committee has identified two main points of questioning
- They intend to question Comey about his role in developing the official intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 elections
- They have asked for any notes or memos prepared by Comey regarding his communications with the White House and the Department of Justice about the Russia investigation. Comey’s memos have not been released by the FBI.
Who will be questioning Comey: Senate Intelligence Committee
- Chair: Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
- Co-chair: Mark Warner (D-Va.)
One place to watch: PBS will live stream the testimony tomorrow here.
Breaking today
The Intelligence Committee released Comey’s opening statement for tomorrow’s testimony. Laid out as a timeline of events concerning Comey’s communications with Trump since the inauguration, the testimony confirms three previously reported details about Comey’s tenure under Trump. The following points reflect the details as Comey will present them tomorrow:
- Trump asked Comey to ease or end the investigation against Michael Flynn. The document states: “[Trump] then said, ‘I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”’ I replied only that ‘he is a good guy.’”
- Trump stressed his desire for the Russia investigations to end. The testimony reads: “He described the Russia investigation as “a cloud” that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia. He asked what we could do to “lift the cloud.” I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him.”
- As of a March 30 phone call, Trump was not under investigation by the FBI. Comey will testify: “ I explained that we had briefed the leadership of Congress on exactly which individuals we were investigating and that we had told those Congressional leaders that we were not personally investigating President Trump. I reminded him I had previously told him that. He repeatedly told me, “We need to get that fact out.” (I did not tell the President that the FBI and the Department of Justice had been reluctant to make public statements that we did not have an open case on President Trump for a number of reasons, most importantly because it would create a duty to correct, should that change.)
Three questions to consider tomorrow
- Is any evidence of collusion presented? This is, after all, one of the key reasons for a Senate investigation. The goal is to determine the extent to which Russian interference in the 2016 election occurred and if it influenced the election. The intelligence community has already issued a report on this matter, but the Senate Intelligence Committee is also seeking to understand whether any evidence exists that a member of Trump’s campaign staff colluded with Russian agents in the interference.
- How will the committee interpret Trump’s communications with Comey? Comey’s opening statement will outline what Trump said to him in private, and he will indicate that this same content is detailed in memos he wrote immediately after their meetings. What is unknown is how the members of the committee will interpret these details and whether Comey will go into further detail than these statements.
- What is the tone of the questioning? The Senate Intelligence Committee took up this investigation, in part, because the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation fell apart over partisan differences. In announcing the investigation, both Burr and Warner emphasized their intent to work in a bipartisan manner and to go “wherever the intelligence leads.”
Background
What led to Comey being fired?
Comey was fired on May 9.
Here is an abbreviated timeline of events leading to Comey’s firing:
- August 4, 2015: FBI begins its investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server for conducting official business while she was secretary of state.
- July 5, 2016: Comey holds a press conference to announce that no charges will be filed against Clinton.
- July 2016: FBI opens an investigation into Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 election
- October 28, 2016: Comey sends a letter to 16 members of Congress saying that “emails that appear to be pertinent” to the FBI’s investigation of Clinton were found on devices seized from Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her husband, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (R-N.Y.). The emails were found as part of a separate investigation regarding inappropriate communications sent by Weiner to a minor.
- November 6, 2016: Comey sends another letter saying the decision not to prosecute Clinton stands.
- January 26, 2017: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates tells White House counsel Donald McGahn that National Security Advisor Michael Flynn lied to the White House about the nature of his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and was open to blackmail by the Russian government.
- February 14, 2017: Comey writes a memo stating that Trump asked him to end the Flynn investigation, according to The New York Times.
- March 20, 2017: Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee and confirms that the FBI was investigating potential ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
- May 2017: Comey reportedly asks for an increase in funding for the Russia investigation, but the White House denies the request was submitted.
- May 9, 2017: Comey is fired.
- The White House releases three letters concerning Comey’s dismissal. The basic rationale is that Comey’s public handling of the Clinton email investigation during the election was inappropriate and eroded public trust in the FBI.
What has happened since his dismissal?
Comey has not made any public statement since his dismissal. News reports, however, have reported some details about Comey’s time as FBI director under Trump and his activities while conducting the Russia investigation. Trump has also conducted interviews on Comey’s dismissal.
Here is an abbreviated timeline of events from May 9 to today (June 7):
- May 10, 2017: Comey writes a farewell letter to FBI staff, agents, and friends, saying, in part, “I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I'm not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won't either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply.”
- May 11, 2017: Trump details Comey’s firing in an interview with NBC News, giving three previously unreported pieces of information:
- Trump alleges Comey told him he was not under investigation: “I actually asked him. I said, 'If it's possible, would you let me know am I under investigation?' He said, 'You are not under investigation.’”
- Trump claims he was going to fire Comey regardless of the recommendation by DOJ officials: “[Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein] made a recommendation. But regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey.”
- Trump says the Russia investigation influenced his decision: “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. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.”
- May 12, 2017: Trump, upset with leaks, tweets about possible recordings of conversations with Comey, writing, "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"
- May 16, 2017: The New York Times reports Trump asked Comey to end the federal investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s possible ties to the Russian government, according to a memo written by Comey the day after Flynn resigned. Comey reportedly wrote that Trump said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
- May 17, 2017: Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees ask the FBI for Comey’s memos concerning communication with the White House.
- May 17, 2017: Justice Department appoints former FBI Director Robert Mueller as the special counsel in charge of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
- May 19, 2017: Comey agrees to testify before Senate Intelligence Committee.
- May 25, 2017: FBI tells Congress that memos written by Comey about his interactions with Trump would be withheld until the bureau can determine how the appointment of Mueller will affect congressional investigations.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
| |||||||||||||||||||
