What a difference a day makes

[Sandy]

Yesterday, Trump, through his attorney, acknowledged that they were glad Comey's testimony came out and that he confirmed the president was not under investigation (at least, not at the time of the firing). Today, a different story, and a different approach. Seems it takes his White House staffers a little while to catch on and plan a strategy. So someone is lying. Who? Well, compare the evidence from the past. Remember what a great guy Comey was when he went to Congress after the FBI report cleared Hillary on the email issue? He was a great, honest guy. So he visits with Trump, takes notes and documents the conversations, accuses him of being a liar several times (well, if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck and it has lied through its teeth hundreds of times even on camera) and so after about 24 hours of planning, Trump decides to call Comey a liar.

I don't think anyone is going to have a problem figuring out who is lying, and who is not.

[KeithE]

As far as truthfulness is concerned, Comey has much more credibility than Trump. Period.

Trump yesterday said:

"from what everyone I’ve met with today, I could have stop it” referring to the Flynn investigation. Imo, he is laying the groundwork to do just that - which would be a travesty of justice.

""I will tell you about it over a very short period of time” referring to the “tapes”. Imo, he and his lawyers are reviewing those recordings (no one uses tapes anymore) to see if they will help or hurt him (or perhaps more sinisterly modifying those recordings). He added that the press will be “disappointed” and would not even say if the the “tapes” existed or not. That is a sidestep- which is a form of lying in my book when he obviously could answer that question.

“It was a total and complete lie” referring the Comey’s testimony. I’d call that hyperbole (another form of lying).

Through himself, his lawyer and his son Eric, he said in various ways that he was "totally vindicated" by the Comey testimony. This is another instance showing that he is delusional.

He also had a speech on Infrastructure (about time). He pointed out there is too many “permitting” actions involved in construction jobs. I agree. As one who has a Master's in Environmental Management, I too think that a full NEPA Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is too cumbersome often taking three years. But an Environmental Assessment (usually doable in three months) seems appropriate to me. My vote would go to those who find ways to radically streamline such permitting activities, but not eliminate them.

I checked out some factual claims Trump made (for instance that the Golden Gate Bridge was built in 4 years, the Empire State Building in 1 year) - he was correct.

But he went hyperbolic again when speaking about “Trillions and Trillions” dollars the US has spent on foreign giveaways. The truth is there was $42.4B foreign aid in 2017 (Obama budget) - 25.6B on Economic and Development Aid and $16.8B in Security Aid. That is about 1% of our budget. Read and visualize . Trump's 2018 proposed budget cuts that by 31%. Shown , but no details yet about how much is Security/Military aid and how much is Economic and Development Aid. But his deal to give the does not portend well for how much of that is humanitarian aid (which would actually help “Make America Great Again”, imo).

[Jon Estes]

[Jon Estes]

[Joseph Patrick]

From Joseph Patrick...aka Gerry Milligan
Yes, what a difference a few months make...In early November FBI director Comey was the darling of republicans and the bane of democrats over the "discovery" of more emails. Hillary incorrectly blamed him for her loss and republicans credited him for helping in her defeat. When, all along Hillary ran a poor campaign while President (then candidate) Trump promised a "pie in the sky" which many out of work people believed. Now Jim Comey is a liar and our do nothing president (excepting a supreme court appointee) is not? Who is the liar? How many people were at the inauguration? How many Muslims celebrated 9/11 in New Jersey? Need I go on?

[Jon Estes]

[Dave Roberts]

[KeithE]

[KeithE]

[Sandy]

[JE Pettibone]

Ed: Sandy what do you know of Comey before say, October of 2016? Had you even heard of him before then?

[KeithE]

[Sandy]

[JE Pettibone]