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Gowdy Shuts Down Comey in Closed-Door Hearing

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Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina pressed former FBI Director James Comey during a Friday closed-door hearing on the roles former FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page, confirming they played an integral part in the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Gowdy, the outgoing chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, first verified with Comey that Strzok was assigned to the Clinton investigation, the hearing transcript revealed.

The former FBI director confirmed he was and that he had interviewed witnesses and reviewed documents for the probe.

Comey went on to confirm Strzok and Page helped draft the public statement the then-bureau chief gave in early July 2016, which found Clinton and her associates “extremely careless” in the handling of classified information.

Comey stated that Strzok specifically helped “edit” the statement.

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The director’s word choice of “extremely careless” caught the attention of many, because it appeared a clear effort to avoid the words “grossly negligent,” which would have implicated Clinton in a crime.

Comey said of Strzok and Page: “They each participated in some respect in that investigation or in our public statement about the investigation and things like that.”

Having confirmed these facts, Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor, then ran through a litany of questions clearly meant to highlight the bias both the former FBI officials brought to the Clinton investigation.

The lawmaker pointed to texts by Page in the spring of 2016 in which she described then-presidential candidate Donald Trump as a “loathsome human” and proclaimed, “Trump simply cannot be president.”

Do you think Comey was truthful about forgetting so many facts?

Strzok wrote back, “Trump’s an idiot,” and, “Hillary should win 100 million to zero.”

Gowdy observed, “I guess an alternative reading of that would be that he already had her as the nominee and she should win the general 100 million to zero.”

Comey represented that he did not know of the texts, and has only read some of them since learning of their existence through the media.

Gowdy summarized: “So, in March of 2016, Peter Strzok is investigating Secretary Clinton — we’ll use your phrase — for the alleged mishandling of classified information. And at least according to this text, he has her winning the primary and/or the general election. Is that fair?”

Comey declined to answer.

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Gowdy then wondered if he would have fired Strzok and Page if he knew of their texts.

“That I can’t answer in the abstract. I’d certainly want the FBI disciplinary process to work and to look at it, to decide whether discipline was appropriate and what that would be. But I can’t answer the ultimate question,” Comey said.

Gowdy persisted with the line of questioning until the former FBI leader conceded he probably would have removed Strzok or Page from the Clinton investigation, but he left open the possibility he could have been persuaded otherwise.

Outgoing House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia told Fox News on Sunday it was “truly stunning” that Comey did not know or could not recall answers for nearly 250 questions asked by those participating in the closed-door session.



“The biggest takeaway is that former FBI Director James Comey, with regard to the two most important investigations… into the Clinton email matter and into the Russia collusion matter, said, as you noted, I don’t recall, I don’t remember or I don’t know, 245 times,” Goodlatte said.

Trump tweeted on Sunday, “Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful! This whole deal is a Rigged Fraud headed up by dishonest people who would do anything so that I could not become President. They are now exposed!”

Comey fired back that night in an interview at the 92nd Street YMCA in New York City.

“All of us should use every breath we have to make sure that the lying stops on January 20, 2021,” he said.

“I understand the Democrats have important debates now over who their candidate should be … but they have to win,” he added. “They have to win.”

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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