Following the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump, many Democrats have criticized the President’s decision — despite having called for Comey’s resignation only a few months ago.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told Bloomberg in November that he no longer had confidence in the abilities of former FBI Director James Comey following his decision to reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.“I do not have confidence in him any longer,” said Schumer adding, “to restore my faith, I am going to have to sit down and talk to him and get an explanation for why he did this.”
In stark contrast to this, Schumer posted two tweets questioning the firing of Comey and calling for a special prosecutor to investigate relations between President Trump and Russia.
First Pres Trump fired Sally Yates, then Preet Bharara. Now #Comey. Doesn't seem like an accident. We must have a special prosecutor.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 9, 2017
If we don't get a special prosecutor, every American will rightfully suspect that the decision to fire #Comey was part of a cover-up.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 9, 2017
Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi also previously opposed Comey, telling CNN in November that he was no longer suited to the position of FBI Director. “Maybe he’s not in the right job,” said Pelosi following Comey’s reopening of the Clinton email investigation, “I think that we have to just get through this election and just see what the casualties are along the way.”
However, Tuesday, Pelosi tweeted a link to her full statement on the firing of Comey saying that Comey’s departure “raises the ghosts of some of the worst Executive Branch abuses.”
.@realDonaldTrump's brazen firing of #FBIDirector raises the ghosts of some of the worst Executive Branch abuses. https://t.co/7yORPHGLnQ pic.twitter.com/zzjGvA15rQ
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) May 10, 2017
Former Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders told ABC’s This Week in January that James Comey should consider resigning having acted in an “outrageous way” during the presidential election. “I think he should take a hard look at what he has done. And I think it would not be a bad thing for the American people if he did step down,” said Sanders, “I think that Comey acted in an outrageous way during the campaign and, you know, no one can say that this was decisive and this was what elected Trump, but clearly his behavior during the campaign in terms of what he said in the week or two before the election was unacceptable.”
Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey raises serious questions about what his administration is hiding.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 9, 2017
Sanders also claimed that the Trump administration is unable to pick an FBI Director that would objectively conduct the Trump-Russia probe.
It is clear that whomever President Trump handpicks to lead the FBI will not be able to objectively carry out the Russia investigation.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 9, 2017
In an op-ed for the Hill published last November, Democratic Congressman, Steve Cohen wrote “For the sake of the FBI, Comey should resign.” Discussing Comey’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, Cohen wrote that Comey’s “actions over the past several days have not only weakened his ability to do his job, but they have severely jeopardized the integrity of the FBI and its duties.”
However, shortly after the firing of James Comey by President Trump, Cohen tweeted a picture of former president Richard Nixon and called for President Trump to resign.
#draintheswamp. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain!RESIGN! Nixon did it.@realDonaldTrump! pic.twitter.com/BVEPnCpXLn
— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) May 10, 2017
Even some leftist entertainers had a complete change of heart relating to Comey once he was fired. Keith Olbermann, host of GQ’s The Resistance has previously called for the resignation of James Comey during the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails,
Very simple: FBI Director Comey needs to clarify – today – that these are not emails from, or withheld by, Clinton, or resign immediately
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) October 28, 2016
But later had extremely strong words for the president once Comey was fired,
TO HELL WITH YOU, YOU MOTHERFUCKING TRAITOR. https://t.co/joix62LdlM
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 10, 2017
Things will never "calm down" again UNTIL YOU ARE REMOVED FROM OFFICE, YOU MOTHERFUCKING TRAITOR https://t.co/rpU41XJVII
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 10, 2017
Even TV Show host Stephen Colbert had to correct his own crowd, who cheered when he announced the firing of Comey. The host jokingly accused them of being Trump fans and then promptly instructed them to react negatively to the news,
Tonight! Stephen reacts to the day's big surprise: the firing of James Comey by President Trump. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/axuUmFLtSd
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) May 10, 2017
Breitbart Editor-in-Chief posted a tweet that highlighted the irony of the left’s reaction to Comey’s firing and explained exactly how this legitimizes Trump,
https://twitter.com/AlexMarlow/status/862086758695002116
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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