Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey has set off firestorms in so many directions. The most important of these is the obvious interference by Trump in an ongoing FBI investigation of Russian meddling in the US presidential election and possible collusion with members of the Trump family and administration. I wrote about Comey’s firing 2 hours after it was announced and, if I may modestly point out, identified a number of incongruities in the White House story that have since been proven false: the firing was based on Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation; the firing was based on DoJ recommendations; the Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstien,  2 weeks in the position, wrote an unsolicited memo to the President recommending the firing of the FBI Director; and that Director Comey had lost the support of the FBI rank and file. All of these points of the original Trump narrative have since been recanted or proven laughable.

Another seemingly inexhaustible maelstrom resulting from this petulant act by the president is the conflicting lies put forth to protect Trump from the honest interpretation that he interfered in an investigation of him and his administration. Vice President Pence and Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders were used as so much canon fodder for the press. Pence clearly lied and has once again suffered grievous damage to his Christian reputation. Huckabee Sanders just went off the rails with her lies and reminded us all of the important of genetics in forming character.

Vice President Pence The Vice President made clear that the President was only acting based on the advice of DoJ by stating  unequivocally the day of the firing that “the President’s decision to accept the recommendation of the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General to remove Director Comey as the head of the FBI . . .” He said the Dep AG Rosenstein’s memo was based on his review of the situation since arriving in his position (2 WEEKS PRIOR!) and implied both that the memo was unsolicited and that the memo gave Trump no real choice but to let Comey go. The real story is that Pence was uncomfortably familiar with Trump’s ranting and raving about Comey and his constant promises to fire him that had gone on for over 3 weeks. Pence had been meeting with Trump for more than a week about the method and timing of terminating Comey. We now know that Comey’s firing had been raised with the DoJ leadership in a White House meeting the day before the memo and that Rosenstein had been directed to write a memo that justified Comey’s firing. It is interesting to note that the only offense that the Deputy AG could come up with for termination was Comey’s handling of the Cinton email investigation 9 months previously. The same botched investigation that handed Trump the election and that he had roundly praised while on the campaign. Two days after Pence’s statements, Trump himself, during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, said, “I was gonna fire regardless of recommendation. I had already made up my mind.” He also admitted that the Russian investigation was on his mind when he decided to terminate the man leading that investigation.

Vice President Pence lied to the press and to the American people about a situation that may very well lead to a Constitutional crisis in this country. Thank God we have a strong Christian to guide the President.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Most observers believe that the eunuch bulldog, Sean Spicer, is the worst White House press secretary in the history of the Republic. No one is even in second place. However, he looks like the second coming of Bill Moyers compared to his substitute this week, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. In her original briefing after the firing, Sanders claimed that she had heard from “countless FBI agents since the firing” and that the rank and file FBI agents had lost respect for Comey and supported his firing. The very next day, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, was asked about Comey’s support inside the FBI. He replied, under oath, “Director Comey had broad support of the FBI and still does to this day” and “the vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey.” The next day Sanders was relentlessly peppered with questions from the press about her claim. She was asked to provide a number for the agents she had heard from “50? 60? 70?” She said, “I have heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful for the president’s decision…I’m sure there are some people who are disappointed. But I’ve heard from a large number…and I don’t even know that many people in the FBI.” Countless numbers, but she doesn’t even know that many people in the FBI. Amazing. Do they think we’re all wearing ‘Make America Great Again” hats?

Huckabee Sanders also claimed, in her initial press conference on Comey’s firing, that the Russian investigation was “probably one of the smallest things” on the FBI’s plate. In Acting Director McCabe’s testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he stated “we consider it to be a highly significant investigation.” Huckabee Sanders is definitely in the Trump mold of dealing with the public and the press – make up anything you want, refuse to provide any supporting evidence, and then claim that the “other side” is attempting to hijack the narrative.

In an interesting followup, Acting Director McCabe was part of a private meeting with Trump on Wednesday to discuss morale at the FBI following Comey’s departure. Whether this subject was discussed in this meeting or not, I do not know, but shortly after the meeting, it was leaked that the idea of Trump visiting FBI headquarters was abandoned when he was informed that he would not be greeted warmly. Perhaps they could plan an alternate visit just with Huckabee Sanders FBI friends?