An example of classic projection

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, who is leading one of the congressional investigations of Russia’s election interference and its possible ties to the Trump campaign, said he’s concerned by a report in The New York Times that President Trump called fired FBI Director James Comey a “nut job” at a meeting with Russian government officials.

 

“I hope that’s not true, I don’t know if that’s what was said or not,” the Utah Republican told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos of the report about the president’s May 10 meeting.

 

Chaffetz hopes Trump didn’t call Comey ‘nut job’ to Russians
ABC News

 


An example of classic projection
by a POTUS who lacks introspection–
Calling Comey a nut job
is a curious cut lob*
that’s reflecting his own predilection.

*cut lob – to hurl an unkindness at someone

Lily Beth Baker, 5/20/17

 

As Comey’s recounting a medley


Just one of several instances of unwanted attention described in the article:

Mr. Comey has spoken privately of his concerns that the contacts from Mr. Trump and his aides were inappropriate, and how he felt compelled to resist them.

 

[…]

 

Mr. Wittes said Mr. Comey told him that he initially did not want to go to the meeting because the F.B.I. director should not have too close a relationship with the White House. But Mr. Comey went because he wanted to represent the bureau.

 

The ceremony occurred in the Blue Room of the White House, where many senior law enforcement officials — including the Secret Service director — had gathered. Mr. Comey — who is 6 feet 8 inches tall and was wearing a dark blue suit that day – told Mr. Wittes that he tried to blend in with the blue curtains in the back of the room, in the hopes that Mr. Trump would not spot him and call him out.

 

“He thought he had gotten through and not been noticed or singled out and that he was going to get away without an individual interaction,” Mr. Wittes said Mr. Comey told him.

 

But Mr. Trump spotted Mr. Comey and called him out.

 

“Oh and there’s Jim,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s become more famous than me.”

 

With an abashed look on his face, Mr. Comey walked up to Mr. Trump.

 

“Comey said that as he was walking across the room he was determined that there wasn’t going to be a hug,” Mr. Wittes said. “It was bad enough there was going to be a handshake. And Comey has long arms so Comey said he pre-emptively reached out for a handshake and grabbed the president’s hand. But Trump pulled him into an embrace and Comey didn’t reciprocate. If you look at the video, it’s one person shaking hands and another hugging.”

 

Comey, Unsettled by Trump, Is Said to Have Wanted Him Kept at a Distance
Michael Schmidt, The New York Times

 

As Comey’s recounting a medley
of efforts to get in his head, the
invasion of bubble
foreshadowing trouble
is creepy, pathetic, and deadly.

Mary Boren, 5/19/17

 

Though the POTUS has tweeted a threat

Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings and John Conyers, the respective ranking members of the House oversight and judiciary committees, requested from White House counsel Donald McGahn copies of all recordings between Trump and Comey.

 

“It is a crime to intimidate or threaten any potential witness with the intent to influence, delay, or prevent their official testimony,” the two wrote in a letter. “The President’s actions this morning — as well as his admission yesterday on national television that he fired Director Comey because he was investigating Trump campaign officials and their connections to the Russian government — raise the specter of possible intimidation and obstruction of justice. The President’s actions also risk undermining the ongoing criminal and counter-intelligence investigations and the independence of federal law enforcement agencies.”

 

Trump threatens Comey in Twitter outburst
CNN

 


 

Though the POTUS has tweeted a threat
to intimidate Comey, don’t fret…
it’s another lame ruse
and another lit fuse
for a smoke bomb he’s gonna regret.

Susan Eckenrode, 5/12/17

 

Cover-up Stench

On May 9, Donald Trump became the second United States president to fire the director of the FBI. Naturally, Americans wanted to know: Why?

 

The exact answer remained elusive over the course of three days following the announcement. Trump and his White House gave numerous, contradictory explanations for James B. Comey’s firing.

 

As a public service, we compiled a timeline of the shifting rhetoric by Trump and his staff. We will update this list as necessary.

 

All of the White House’s conflicting explanations for Comey’s firing: A timeline
The Washington Post

 


Yes the firing of Comey’s a cinch
to elicit a cover-up stench,
while the POTUS and crew
twist the facts all askew
and deny they gave Putin an inch.

Susan E. Eckenrode, 5/11/17

Fake news again! Really! How dare they?

President Donald Trump unleashed a Twitter torrent Friday morning following days of punishing headlines over his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.

 

Trump’s tweetstorm railed against the “fake media” and those who expect his surrogates to defend him with “perfect accuracy,” while giving a stern warning to Comey that he “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

 

AM ET President Trump Unleashes on Fired FBI Director James Comey and ‘Fake Media
NBC News

 


Fake news again! Really! How dare they?
That Comey was tossed out on Tuesday!
The fellow kept digging
straight into my wigging!
I booted him right out the doorway!

Eric Linden, 5/11/17

So when Comey was summoned one night

“The conversation that night in January, Mr. Comey now believes, was a harbinger of his downfall this week as head of the F.B.I., according to two people who have heard his account of the dinner.

 

[…]

 

“As described by the two people, the dinner offers a window into Mr. Trump’s approach to the presidency, through Mr. Comey’s eyes. A businessman and reality television star who never served in public office, Mr. Trump may not have understood that by tradition, F.B.I. directors are not supposed to be political loyalists, which is why Congress in the 1970s passed a law giving them 10-year terms to make them independent of the president.”

 

In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred.
The New York Times

 


 

So when Comey was summoned one night
to a one-on-one dinner delight
with his majesty trump,
he was played for a chump
by demands for a loyalty rite.

Susan E. Eckenrode, 5/11/17

We need a diversion

The shock sacking of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday represents an attempt by the Republican administration to distract public attention from the damaging revelations contained in Sally Yates’s testimony before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee the previous day, former Senator and Governor (D-FL) Bob Graham told i24NEWS.

 

“We’re in a state of mutually assured destruction,” Graham said, referring to the partisan discord in Washington. “It seems as if both sides are trying to lob the biggest bomb they can at the other in order to get the public’s attention off the last bomb.”

 

“I think the timing is very suspect, that it would be done the day after this very damning testimony by Miss Yates relative to the President’s handling of information that indicated that his number one national security advisor compromised himself to the Russians,” Graham further added.

 

Comey sacking ‘a diversion from Yates testimony’: Bob Graham to i24NEWS
i24NEWS Americas

 

I’ll bet it was getting some hotter
for POTUS or maybe his dotter.
“We need a diversion
to stop this occursion!”
sez he, that precedent rotter.

Eric Linden, 5/10/17

Why Now?

“The decision by a President whose campaign associates are under investigation by the FBI for collusion with Russia to fire the man overseeing that investigation, upon the recommendation of an Attorney General who has recused himself from that investigation, raises profound questions about whether the White House is brazenly interfering in a criminal matter,” Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. The House committee is looking into Russian interference in the election.

 

Some Republicans were also concerned. “I am troubled by the timing and reasoning of Director Comey’s termination,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also examining Russian meddling. “I have found Director Comey to be a public servant of the highest order, and his dismissal further confuses an already difficult investigation by the Committee.”

 

President Trump fires FBI Director Comey
The Washington Post

 


 

Perhaps he deserved to be fired,
but the person who’s apt to be hired,
will likely rescind
and promptly upend
all the evidence agents acquired.

Susan E. Eckenrode, 5/9/17