The Tale of James B. Comey

I just wrote about this a couple of posts back, the gripping tale former Deputy Attorney General told at a Senate Judiciary hearing last Wednesday. Since then I've been listening to podcasts of news programs and have heard several versions of the same story. I want to try to straighten this out, for myself and for you. I'm going to keep updating this post as I learn facts, but this is how I understand the story.

Befroe I start-- I am really going to try not to speculate, but keep in mind, at times in Comey's testimony, he will say something in pieces one has to put together, or will fail to say something straight out. For example, he says that "Mrs. Ashcroft... had banned all phone calls... she reported that a call had come through... it was from the White House... it was taken in the hospital... as a result of that call Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Card were on their way to the hospital." (And those quotes are out of order as he looped back in answer to questions.) Is it speculating to translate that into, "The WH called and tried to talk to Ashcroft, Mrs. Ashcroft wouldn't let them, and so they sent over Gozales and Card to try to see him in person"? If I don't do at least that much "speculating", this post is going to be uber-long.

To read Comey's actual testimony, you can find it here at ThinkProgress.

The exciting events in the George Washington University Hospital that have captured our imaginations took place on Wednesday, March 10, 2004. But to understand those events, you have to know what led up to them.

The White House was undertaking a classified program that required certification of legality from the Justice Department, headed by John Ashcroft. We don't know precisely what that program was, although it is understood to be what we call the NSA domestic wiretapping/surveillance program. Comey himself was very coy about what he called "a particular classified program" and would not confirm what "It" was.

Comey said the Justice Department had "concerns" about "Its" legality. Why? Well, one rumor is that the WH was trying to rewrite the program to officially circumvent the FISA court once and for all. That may or may not be true-- we don't have confirmation this program was even "It"-- but it does make a good example of the sort of thing that would cross a line legally and make Justice refuse to cerify it, if you're having trouble picturing what that might be.

Ashcroft had a deadline to certify "It" by March 11th. A week before, Comey met with Ashcroft and went over his analysis of "It" and they "agreed on a course of action". Comey didn't say what that was, but it sounds like they had a week to either get the WH to change its mind about the exact nature of "It", or find the legal loophole that would allow them to certify "Its" legality. Perhaps the course of action was to wait until the last minute to tell the WH they weren't going to sign it (which is what ended up happening). Oh, there I go, speculating... I tell you, it's hard not to with this story! Certainly they were on the same page that "It" could not be cerified as it was.

Within hours of that meeting, Mr. Ashcroft was taken very ill. What I have heard, although it's not in Comey's testimony, is that he had to have his gall bladder removed, and he developed pancreantitis. I'm a blogger, not a doctor, Jim, and I've heard both the chicken and the egg as to which one he got first. In any case, he was critically ill, in ICU for over a week, and the power of his office of Attorney General was temporarily transferred to Comey (the Deputy AG), which is one of his responsibilities.

As will become important later, I've heard people talking this week about how unbelievably painful and debilitating pancreantitis is, and the amount of morphine a patient must be kept on. It sounds like something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy (which is fine, because I have other plans in store for him, namely waiting for him to implode on his own, but I digress...).

During that week, Comey spoke to FBI Director Robert Mueller: "with whom I’d been discussing this particular matter and had been a great help to me over that week." On Tuesday the 10th, the day before the deadline, he "communicated" to the WH that he had no intention of signing off on "It" and why.

Back at the hospital, Mrs. Ashcroft spent the week valiantly protecting her husband from all visitors and phone calls, in concert with his FBI security detail. On Wednesday the 11th, the day of the deadline for signoff on "It", Mrs. Ashcroft gets a telephone call. Comey says, "I have some recollection that the call was from the President himself, but I don’t know that for sure. It came from the White House." Not to repeat myself, but here goes: The WH called and tried to talk to Ashcroft, Mrs. Ashcroft wouldn't let them, and so they were sending over Gozales and Card to try to see him in person. Mrs. Ashcroft calls David Ayers, the AG's chief of staff, who calls Comey, who is riding home from work with his security detail.

Sorry, kids, but Little Miss Patriot is fighting of the Little Miss Flu, and that's all I can sit here and write for now. Off to bed (cough, cough). Updates tomorrow. Go ahead and comment if you see something in this part.