Republican Senator Rand Paul nailed the liberal spin coming from CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King on Thursday, hammering the hypocrisy on the firing of James Comey. After King, who is also a Democratic donor, questioned the way in which Comey was fired, Paul fired back: “I think if they summarily dismissed Comey earlier on without going through that process, you know all the left-wing media would have been up in arms with that too.”
Ouch. The Senator lectured, “The left has wanted to get rid of [Comey] for six months. We finally do what the left wants and they can only complain and make up stories about how it means, ‘Oh, the end of the Republic.’”
An irritated King icily responded, “No, Senator, I think it's clear that both sides wanted him to go. The question always has been about the timing of it. That's all.” She demanded, “Is it okay with you that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had recused himself from the investigation, was pretty much involved in the decision to let James Comey go?”
King perfectly fits the Republican’s definition of the “left-wing media.” In April of 2017, it was revealed that she vacationed with the Obamas, lamely defending it as “not political” and just “spending time with friends.”
In 2012, she attended an Obama fund-raiser. So she’s hardly an objective interrogator on the Comey issue.
Paul kept the focus on the Democrats, telling King:
Most Democrats feel like he insinuated Hillary Clinton's guilt and then did not indict her. Most Republicans felt like, well, you know, with all the evidence of her guilt and him saying so much about what she did wrong, why didn't he indict her? So I don't think you've ever had an FBI Director where both sides were very unhappy with him.
A transcript is below:
CBS This Morning
5/11/17
8:02:22NORAH O’DONNELL: Republican Senator Rand Paul supported ousting FBI Director Comey. He was the only no vote during Comey’s 2013 confirmation. Senator Paul joins us from the Capitol. Good morning, Senator.
RAND PAUL: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
O’DONNELL: It's quite unusual to fire an FBI director, if not unprecedented, for the reasons. Should President Trump have had a replacement in mind when he did it?
PAUL: You know, I don’t know that. I would say Bill Clinton would be the other precedent. I guess that was the last president who fired an FBI Director.
O’DONNELL: After an ethics investigation.
GAYLE KING: Is it okay with you that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had recused himself from the investigation, was pretty much involved in the decision to let James Comey go? Does that square with you?
PAUL: You know, I think we probably never had someone fired where both sides actually really agreed with the firing more than you would imagine. Almost every prominent Democrat in country has called for Comey's ouster. Most Democrats felt like he insinuated Hillary Clinton’s guilt and then did not indict her. Most Republicans felt like, well, you know, with all the evidence of her guilt and him saying so much about what she did wrong, why didn’t he indict her? So I don’t think you’ve ever had an FBI Director where both sides were very unhappy with him. Harry Reid called for his ouster.
KING: But Senator, that’s not the question. That’s not the question.
PAUL: Chuck Schumer. Chuck Schumer. Chuck Schumer —
KING: That’s not the question.
PAUL: Chuck Schumer —
KING: Senator, excuse me for interrupting you.
PAUL: Let me finish my sentence.
KING: That’s not the question.
PAUL: Chuck Schumer also said he had lost confidence in him. So, I think it is the question.. Both sides really had lost confidence in him and I think that's why he's gone.
KING: No. The question is it okay with you to have Attorney General Jeff Sessions be involved in this decision when he had recused himself from the investigation?
PAUL: Well, the hierarchy is that the FBI director works for the Department of Justice and works for the Attorney General and works for the assistant Attorney General. And so, I think that you would go through the normal process to review someone’s work record before getting rid of them and I think if they summarily dismissed Comey earlier on without going through that process, you know, all the left-wing media would have been up in arms with that too. But I think it is funny that nobody's emphasizing the hypocrisy of Democrats who were all for his ouster and clamored. I mean, Moveon.org has got a huge petition to get rid of him. All right? The left has wanted to get rid of him for six months. We finally do what the left wants and they can only complain and make up stories about how it means, “Oh, the end of the Republic.” But I think it’s far from that.
KING: No, Senator, I think it’s clear that both sides wanted him to go. The question always has been about the timing of it. That’s all.
PAUL: I know, but the explanation, I think, is a very reasonable one. The explanation is they kneed to go through a work review and have someone evaluate it from his boss's point of view and his bosses were delayed by Democrats for several months. We had the slowest approval of the cabinet, really in the history of our country, because of partisan differences. So Sessions was delayed and then so was the assistant. When they finally got him replaced, they did the review and I absolutely believe that from the election there's been discussion of letting Comey go because nobody's been happy with him. I've also been unhappy with him because of concerns about privacy but also concerns about investigating the Orlando killing. I think the FBI dropped the ball. There are many warnings that could have led to the Orlando shooting and I think the FBI would never admit they made any mistakes in that and I think were really unwilling to improve the process.
