Blogs On How To Survive The Trump Presidency

By Alan Keyes

May 16, 2017

"Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who was confirmed by a 96 to 4 vote in the Senate on April 25, wrote the letter recommending that Comey should be fired: 'The Director was wrong to usurp the Attorney General's authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution. It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement,' wrote Rosenstein."

This is how Roger Aronoff of Accuracy in Media reports the rationale given by the Justice Department official who recommended that President Trump dismiss FBI Director James Comey. Yet later in the same article, Mr. Aronoff describes the circumstances in which Director Comey took it upon himself to make that announcement:

Attorney General Lynch publicly stated that she would abide by the conclusion of a process, which included Comey's recommendation, about whether the evidence available justified pursuing the case against Hillary Clinton. Thus, Lynch appeared, quite publicly, to refer any conclusion about that issue to others, including Director Comey. Since that delegation was made in public, was Director Comey at fault for publicizing his conclusion? After all, Lynch's public statement, made in the context of refusing to recuse herself from the case, nonetheless left it to Director Comey to evaluate the available evidence. If Attorney General Lynch did not move to prosecute Mrs. Clinton, her public statements made it inevitable that the public would demand to know Director Comey's determination.

But any answer given in the context of that public clamor would have been subject to the suspicion that the director was acting under duress of public and bureaucratic pressure, and at the behest of the attorney general. In the midst of a presidential election, wouldn't this have damaged the Bureau's credibility as a non-partisan law-enforcement agency? By announcing the decision on his own initiative, was Director Comey acting to reassure the public that his conclusion was reached objectively, on his own responsibility, and under no partisan duress?

Be that as it may, Attorney General Lynch passed the buck in a very public fashion. It makes no sense for Deputy AG Rosenstein simply to ignore this, especially since Lynch's statements tended to rebut the notion that Director Comey wrongfully usurped the attorney general's authority. The stronger position would be to make the case that Comey's view of the evidence was simply wrong.

But that case would hardly justify firing the director now, since he later reversed the judgment, re-opened the FBI's investigation into Clinton's actions, and was praised by then candidate Trump for having the courage to do so.

If Mr. Trump was right when he praised Comey's courageous amendment of his views, why has he now dismissed him for his initial judgment, as if his subsequent self-correction was of no account? Since as president, Trump has lawful authority to dismiss the FBI director without pretense of any cause, why publicly proclaim a cause that makes so little sense? Is he doing so for the same reason Attorney General Lynch publicly passed the buck to others, including Director Comey, in the first place? As a political appointee, she was subject to the suspicion that her judgments were mainly dictated by her partisan interest in the outcome of the election. That obvious conflict of interest made her involvement in the process questionable, rightly fueling demands that she recuse herself.

But in the present circumstance, individuals identified as supporters and associates of President Trump are the subjects of investigation. He is therefore subject to the same conflict of interest allegation. Though he has the lawful power to dismiss the director without cause, doing so might be construed to lend credence to the view that he seeks to undermine the investigation. It could be construed to justify the suspicion that he, or those around him, fear being seriously damaged by what the investigation will reveal. Since his partisan opponents excoriated Director Comey for handing the presidency to Trump by re-opening the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton, isn't it reasonable to assume that President Trump and his advisers expected these opponents to applaud Comey's fall?

But instead, his opponents are brushing aside the reason Rosenstein gives for Comey's dismissal. They are pressing the view that President Trump's action is a desperate bid to delay the revelation of some "smoking gun," which they claim will be exposed by further investigation into the Trump team's possible collusion with Russian interests. It may be that, as the Trump faction's supporters maintain, there is no such conclusive evidence. But, if that is true, why rouse suspicion with a maneuver that seems aimed at crippling, or at least slowing down, Congress' investigation into the matter?

Why not trust to the truth, while focusing steadfastly on fulfilling the promise of President Trump's vision for the nation's good? In that way, wouldn't President Trump be more likely to avoid the deep regret President Nixon expressed when asked how his enemies succeeded in their bid to end his presidency: "I brought myself down. I gave them a sword, and they stuck it in and they twisted it with relish. And I guess if I had been in their position, I'd have done the same thing."

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.

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Alan Keyes

Dr. Keyes holds the distinction of being the only person ever to run against Barack Obama in a truly contested election – featuring authentic moral conservatism vs. progressive liberalism – when they challenged each other for the open U.S. Senate seat from Illinois in 2004... (more)

During the Reagan years, Keyes was the highest-ranking black appointee in the Reagan Administration, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations and as Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

He ran for president in 1996, 2000, and 2008, and was a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Maryland in 1988 and 1992, in addition to his 2004 candidacy for the U.S. Senate from Illinois.

He holds a Ph.D. in government from Harvard and wrote his dissertation on constitutional theory.

His basic philosophy can best be described as "Declarationism" – since he relies on the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence to define the premises on which our country was founded, and to which it must remain committed if it is to survive. To Dr. Keyes, the Constitution itself cannot be faithfully interpreted, understood, or applied apart from the divinely-premised principles of the Declaration.

When Keyes ran for president in 2000, the media generally considered him the winner of the Republican primary debates, due to the persuasive eloquence of his defense of the unborn, opposition to unfair taxation, advocacy of school choice, promotion of family values, and focus on what he called "America's moral crisis." As a result, he became the host of MSNBC-TV's "Alan Keyes Is Making Sense" in 2002.

He is best known for thrusting the evil of abortion – which he considers our nation's "greatest moral challenge" – into the national spotlight.

Keyes is also a strong supporter of Israel, and in 2002 he was flown by the Israeli government to the Holy Land to receive an award for his staunch defense of Israel in the media. He is the only American ever to receive such an honor from the State of Israel.

When Keyes for the Senate in 2004, he did so because he was incensed the Democrat "community organizer" refused to support the Born Alive Infant Protection Act in Illinois on several occasions – a measure approved not long afterward by the U.S. Senate, 100 to 0.

Dr. Keyes blogs at LoyaltoLiberty.com, and writes commentary for WorldNetDaily, BarbWire.com, and Daily Caller.

An archive titled "Alan Keyes' Pro-life Advocacy" is available at Faith and Freedom Foundation.

Alan is available to address interested venues of students, educators, civic groups, professional organizations, public servants, political advocates, churches, and others who are interested in preserving our nation's institutions of liberty.

To arrange a speech or special appearance by Dr. Keyes, you can email him at: alan@loyaltoliberty.com.

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