ASAnalisis: James Comey Witnesses to the House Select Intelligence Committee
March 20, 2017 William Craddick
James Comey testified today to the House Select Intelligence Committee's hearing on Russian Interference in 2016 Presidential Election. Testimony is often disrupted when members of the House read the points of media talk and continue to ask Comey to give inappropriate statements of opinion to them, which he repeatedly rejects. Although the trial was marked by various politicians trying to push false theories, discredited and denied allegations of Russian involvement, a number of important points were raised.
Comey's core statement is that broadly, the Russian Federation has traditionally sought to interfere in the American political process as part of its overall goal of reducing trust in the democratic process. Mr. Comey clarified that the FBI has no judgment about whether Russia's efforts have any real effect on elections. While the Russian government opposes Hillary Clinton's candidacy, Comey explained that they did not intend to help the Trump campaign in particular. Furthermore, Comey stated that in early August, the FBI had decided that the Russian government expected Trump to lose elections. He further explained that Russia does not at all be in direct contact with Wikileaks during the election cycle.
When asked about a report by former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper that Russia did not change the vote count and former CIA Director Michael Morell that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump and Russia campaigns. Comey states that he agrees with the broad premise of two statements. When asked about whether the FBI is considering trips abroad, meetings with foreign leaders and photos taken with foreign officials, Comey said that the FBI would need additional contextual evidence to suggest the event would be of interest to investigators.
Interestingly, Comey stated that Russian efforts online to reduce American confidence in democratic institutions are very clear, as if Russia "wanted to be caught." It has been well documented by sources such as Kapersky Lab and proven in the release of Wikileaks' Vault 7 that American intelligence agencies advocate Russian online tools and methods of attack to frame the Russian Federation. Given the evidence that organizations within the US Government have been proven to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election, Comey's testimony raises further questions about who is actually responsible for major security breaches by the end of 2016.
The remainder of the meeting was marked by various members of Parliament pushing the unproved and discredited conspiracy theories that have appeared in the American press, including that no Republican email was released during the election and that the entire leak was released in 2016 targeting the Party Democrats. Certain members of Congress also continue to quote discredited and seemingly falsified documents "Buzz". claiming to show the alleged relationship between Donald Trump and the Russian government. The meeting ended with Representatives Trey Gowdy (SC) and Devin Nunes (CA) complaining that Mr. Comey is too vague, has "created a vacuum" in public perceptions of Russian influence claimed in elections and puts a "big cloud" over Congress as they attempt to investigate.