This week, President Donald Trump took it upon himself—yes, himself—to fire FBI Director James Comey, the very man leading a counterintelligence investigation into Trump-Russia collusion during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Trump reportedly did so because FBI Director Comey both refused to pledge his unwavering “loyalty” to Trump, and also for, rather than dialing it down, requesting more resources to look into Trump-Russia ties.
The Trump administration, as is their wont, first claimed that they fired Comey because of how he treated Hillary Clinton during the election (this despite Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeatedly lauding Comey’s treatment of Hillary during said election and regularly leading lock her up chants) while placing the blame on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and then switching gears when, speaking to NBC News’ Lester Holt, Trump admitted that he not only pressed Comey about the ongoing Trump-Russia investigation during a January dinner, but also intended to fire him all along.
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Real Time host Bill Maher addressed the imbroglio on his program Friday night. “Get this: the main reason they said Comey had to go: it had nothing to do with Russia, it was all about how unfair he was to Hillary. This insulted Sarah Palin’s intelligence. Because you know, if there’s one thing Trump will not abide, it’s badmouthing his dear friend ‘Crooked Hillary,’” joked Maher.
The comedian then addressed Trump’s other bizarre confession to Holt, where the President said: “What I did is I was going to fire Comey. My decision,” he told Holt. “I was going to fire Comey… regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey.” If that weren’t enough, President Trump also admitted that he asked Comey over that dinner if he was “under investigation.”
“He admitted obstruction of justice right there on live national television! And the Republicans? Oh, nothing to see here,” said Maher.
But later on during the program, the political satirist laid the blame for Comeygate on… Bill Clinton. According to Maher, he is to blame because his tarmac tête-à-tête with then Attorney General Loretta Lynch during the campaign forced her to distance herself from the ongoing investigation (she did not fully recuse herself, however), leading to Comey being the mouthpiece for the ongoing probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
“I don’t think this is said enough. Bill Clinton… a lot of this is because of Bill Clinton,” said Maher. “The reason why Comey had to say what he did is because the attorney general had to recuse herself because he walked on her plane. Let’s not forget that. Bill Clinton, once again, fucked up his wife’s life. Absolutely. Absolutely.”
“If Bill Clinton hadn’t walked on Loretta Lynch’s plane, then she would’ve been making the statement instead of Comey,” Maher continued. “Yes, [Comey] made a statement we didn’t like, but he was given an almost impossible situation. That’s where we are: Bill Clinton. Let’s put the blame where it belongs.”
