Comey Testimony, Part 1

Interesting start to the June 8, 2017 Comey hearing. Former FBI Director James Comey appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee to testify. Comey's preliminary statement. Instead of starting with Comey's statement, or with questions that they expected him to answer, the Committee Chair, Richard Burr, began with a series of far-ranging questions that he hoped Comey would answer. He commented, "Today's your opportunity to set the record straight," and "The American people need to hear your side to the story." Ranking minority member Mark Warner then gave a lengthier statement in which, purporting to give a review of the events that led to Comey's testimony. This was a speech in itself, in which Warner took advantage of the chance to express his concerns about the President's behavior. Warner's statement was distinctly more partisan. This disappointed me a bit, but Warner is a politician first and foremost.

James Comey, FBI portrait

Comey did not repeat his very cautious written statement. He did, however, began his testimony with a very sharp oral statement: "The shifting explanations of my firing confused, concerned me." The administration had undertaken to "defame me." He said that much of what the administration had said were "lies." He described and praised the FBI's mission. "The FBI is honest. The FBI is strong. And the FBI is and always be independent."

The hearing then turned toward questions and answers. Comey's answers were as short and to-the-point as possible. This was quite clever: he seemed forthright, and yet he was careful not to amplify. He quite clearly stated that the Russian government had interfered with the United States' 2016 election. Since this has been controversial, especially in the right-wing media, his brevity and clarity seemed persuasive.

All things considered, Comey has made (as of about 10:42 this morning) a clear, persuasive statement of his perspective. He spoke in a clear, confident tone, hesitated briefly when he needed to think about an answer, and, in general, made a strong nonverbal appearance that will make his testimony harder to ignore. More importantly, he answered question clearly, without any obvious attempt to evade or obfuscate. He made a stark contrast with the unclear, carefully parsed testimony of administration officials the day before.

Final comment: Comey's own testimony to this point has been very compelling. Senators Burr and Warner might have been smart to give much briefer opening statements, since (1) Comey overshadowed them and (2) Comey was much clearer and more persuasive.

Who is right and who is wrong? What are the political implications? Has anyone committed a crime? What can be proven and what can't be proven? We still don't really know, but Comey is honing in on the issues. In other words, he's making it clear what needs to be looked into. That, in itself, is useful.