The final week of a presidential election for any political reporter tends to be a blur. For the campaigns, for reporters and editors, for everyone involved, everything which has been anticipation, planning and predication rushes into action and culmination. For people who live politics it is exhilarating. But the suffusion of events, news and activity is so great that it is more like being carried along by a wave than anything you can experience or think about as it happens.
It’s October 31 and the PollTracker Average stands at Clinton 45.4 percent, Trump 43.8 percent, a 1.6 percentage-point spread.
The TPM Electoral Scoreboard stands at Clinton 288, Trump 204. Arizona, Florida, and Nevada are in the Toss Up category.
James Comey’s decision to send his letter to Capitol Hill seemed like a bad one from the start. But it did not seem as egregious at first as it does now because many assumed he faced a tough balancing act between informing Congress of significant new evidence and following longstanding DOJ/FBI guidelines about avoiding potential election interference. Even faced with that dilemma, he could have provided more information than a terse letter certain to drive wild speculation. But everything we’ve learned over the last 48 hours-plus suggests Comey had no basis to believe there was significant new evidence, indeed no clear reason to think there was anything new at all. At best, Comey combined extremely poor judgment with a decision to place a near-absolute priority on protecting himself from criticism over carrying out his professional and ethical obligations.
As I said in the headline, the TPM Reader email below is a must-read – not because it contains any explosive new information but because the author is a DOJ veteran with top level experience handling high profile public corruption cases. This person knows the intricacies of what is involved in these kinds of investigations, the legal particulars, investigative strategies, the technology involved and how all of it connects up with the procedures surrounding elections.
Feral Trumper chants “Jews-S-A” at reporters in press pen at Trump rally in Phoenix ….
Guy chants “Jew-S-A” in front of press pen pic.twitter.com/2yqgA6dD4k
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) October 29, 2016
Last night I noted that current news reporting suggests that the FBI has not even determined whether any of the Huma Abedin emails are new – i.e., they have not confirmed how many if any were not already produced and scrutinized by the FBI in the investigation that ended in July. Now we’ve heard from TPM Reader GL (not actual initials) on the amount of time it would take to ascertain such information. According to GL ascertaining how many duplicates there are and a basic review of whether they are relevant to the investigation would likely take only a few days.
I’m writing because I’m hearing news reports (Pete Williams/NBC) that the FBI has said it cannot review the new Abedin/Wiener email production in time for the election. I’m an attorney with over a decade of federal law enforcement experience, currently in a senior role [REDACTED] I have up-to-date eDiscovery experience, and review large document productions, sometimes in the midst of fast-moving litigation and even trial, on a regular basis.
If you’re really into news and digital news publishing and want to get a start in the business, here’s a great job. It’s an entry level or near entry level position as our newest Newswriter. What the job requires is a lot of enthusiasm and smarts and deep immersion (obsession with?) in the news and political news. A sense of humor also required. Is it for you? Does this sound like a great opportunity for someone you know? If so, please check out the full job listing after the jump.
People react hastily and emotionally in moments of drama and stress. In the last hour I have had a number of friends and acquaintances tell me they’re glad I’m thinking more clearly about the Comey matter or revised my views since yesterday. Others have pointed out that I’m now critical of Comey whereas in the past I defended his reputation for non-partisan work.
Let me share a few thoughts on the latest on the emails front.
We have two contending points of view on the case. One group says Comey flagrantly violated longstanding DOJ policy (through multiple administrations) by sending this letter to the Hill. Indeed, we now have multiple reports that Attorney General Lynch told Comey he was acting outside of DOJ policy. In this view, whatever his motivations, he recklessly interfered in a national election based on little more than an effort inoculate himself from future Republican criticism. This view seems backed up by numerous former federal prosecutors from both parties.