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The Unmaking of the President 2016

Page 21

by Lanny J. Davis


  abrupt declines in national popular vote polls after, 133, 142–47

  Clinton’s loss and, 1, 157–58

  Comey’s later memo justifying, 123

  critics of Comey’s judgment in sending, 122–25, 127–28

  fake Russian email as reason for sending, 125–26

  FBI leaks as factor in, 111–12, 124

  Justice policy of not taking any preelection action and, 126–27, 128–29

  key battleground states and, 132, 133, 147–53, 154–55

  media coverage and, 133–38, 157

  polls affected by, 1, 133, 134–37, 138, 142–47, 154–55, 157–58

  rationalization about no choice in sending, 123–24

  recipients of, 121

  text of, 121–22

  voters’ sentiments after, 133, 138–40

  Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), 111

  Congress. See also House and Senate headings

  Benghazi hearings in, 8, 37, 38, 87, 103

  Comey’s November 6 letter about no emails found to, 101, 131–32

  Comey’s October 28 letter about FBI investigation to. See Comey’s letter to Congress

  FBI leaks and, 117

  Constitution

  Comey’s investigation and, 64

  emoluments clause of, 167, 187–189

  impeachment process and, 167, 173, 175–76, 186, 187–88, 192

  presidential conflicts of interest under, 167

  Watergate crisis and, 134

  Constitutional Convention, 159–61, 183–84, 188

  Conyers, John, 117

  Cook Political Report, 149

  Cummings, Elijah E., 24, 117

  Daily Mail, 99

  D’Amato, Al, 104

  Dershowitz, Alan, 168n

  Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (FBI Operations Guide), 69–71, 72, 73

  Dowd, Maureen, 9, 55

  Dreazen, Yochi, 118

  Drew, Elizabeth, 93

  Drum, Kevin, 155

  Duffy, Michael, 8

  Eichenwald, Kurt, 15–17, 22

  Eisen, Norman L., 173

  elections

  congressional (1998), 164

  presidential (2016). See presidential election

  Elkind, Peter, 100–101, 113, 114

  emails

  Clinton’s use of. See Clinton emails.See hacking of emails. See Clinton emails story

  emoluments clause of Constitution

  as impeachment standard, 167, 187–88

  Trump’s conflicts of interest under, 188–93

  Engagement Labs, 138–39, 140

  Espionage Act, 85–86

  Esquire magazine, 54

  fake news

  Russians’ spreading of, 2

  Trump on, 184, 199

  Fallon, Brian, 37, 38–41, 77, 118, 207

  Fay, Brad, 139–40

  FBI

  Abedin’s emails reviewed by, 130–31

  anti-Clinton atmosphere of, 99, 102, 109–10, 124

  classification marking of Clinton emails and, 44, 53, 86

  Clinton Foundation investigation and, 109–10, 111, 118–19

  Comey’s announcement of findings by, 83–86, 90–91

  Comey’s letter to Congress about Clinton investigation by. See Comey’s letter to Congress

  email classification levels and, 35

  FOIA Vault of, 36, 57, 68

  Giuliani’s work with, 105, 107, 108

  hacking of State Department’s server and, 26, 47, 84, 91

  Justice’s supervision of, 96

  leaks from agents in, 102, 106, 109, 111–12, 115, 116, 117, 124, 129

  McCullough’s “referral” memo to, 32, 48, 57, 61, 68, 69, 71, 72, 76, 78

  possible criminal investigation by, 48, 55, 57, 58–60, 61

  Rich’s pardon and, 105–6, 109

  rules about opening investigations by, 69–70, 70–71, 72

  seizure of Weiner’s laptop by, 100

  FBI Operations Guide, 69–71, 72, 73

  Federalist Papers, 160, 175, 188

  Federal Records Act, 17–18, 19, 20, 21

  First Amendment protections, 167, 181–82

  constitutional standard on attacks on as impeachable offense, 167

  Trump and, 182–83, 199

  FiveThirtyEight, 134, 135, 142, 147, 152

  Flynn, Michael, 168n, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 184

  FOIA Vault, FBI, 36, 57, 68

  Ford, Gerald R., 161

  Fox & Friends (TV show), 115, 116

  Fox News, 76, 102, 107, 108, 110, 115–16, 134

  Frankel, Richard, 92

  Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 12, 25, 28, 35, 42, 44, 49, 69, 71, 72, 75, 118

  Freeh, Louis, 75

  Gallup poll, 142

  General Services Administration (GSA), 19, 189, 190

  Gerry, Elbridge, 188

  Gerstein, Josh, 118

  Geyh, Charles, 200

  Gillum, Jack, 23

  Gingrich, Newt, 137, 164

  Giuliani, Rudy

  Clinton’s win in Senate campaign (2000) and, 102–3

  Comey’s nonprosecution decision and, 101–2, 107–8, 115

  FBI agents’ relationship with, 99, 102, 107, 108, 115

  hatred of Clinton and support for Trump by, 99, 103–4

  media statements about Clinton investigation by, 115–17

  prediction of surprises before election by, 116, 119

  Rich’s pardon and, 105–6

  Giuliano, Mark, 74

  Gonzales, Alberto, 106, 107, 126

  Gorelick, Jamie, 126

  Gorsuch, Neil, 199

  Gowdy, Trey, 8, 87–88

  hacking of emails

  Blumenthal’s account and, 25

  Comey on lack of evidence of, 26, 47, 83

  media on possible hacking of Clinton emails, 16, 26

  Powell’s private account and, 25–26

  Russian and Chinese, 26

  Haldeman, H. R., 174

  Hamilton, Alexander, 160, 163, 175, 176, 186, 188

  Hill newspaper, 76

  Hogan, Lawrence, 164, 176

  Holder, Eric, 37, 122, 127–28

  Holt, Lester, 172

  Hoover, J. Edgar, 96

  Hopkins, Dan, 145, 146, 147

  Horowitz, Michael E., 115

  Hosko, Ronald, 108–9

  House and Senate Intelligence Committee, 31–32, 33–34, 77

  House Benghazi Committee, 5, 8, 38

  House Judiciary Committee, 125, 162, 163–64, 168

  House of Representatives

  Clinton impeachment in, 164–65

  impeachment process in, 159, 160–62, 163–66, 168, 175, 178

  possible investigation of Trump’s conduct as imminent risk and, 195–96, 201

  Whitewater hearings in, 7

  House Oversight Committee, 24, 77, 87–88, 103, 134

  Huffington Post, 115n, 139

  Humphrey, Gordon, 201–2

  impeachment, 159–193. See also Twenty-Fifth Amendment

  abuse of presidential power in, 167

  Constitutional Convention on, 159–61, 183–84, 188

  constitutional standards for, 167, 173, 175–76, 186, 187–88, 192, 193

  earlier proceedings against Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton for, 161–65

  impeachment investigation of Trump

  abuse of public trust by, 175–81, 184

  favoring of Russia as betrayal of public trust and, 184–86

  legitimacy as president as basis for, 166

  obstruction of justice and, 2, 167–75

  serial, willful material lies by, 176–81

  Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, 190

  inspectors general (IGs)

  appointment and authority of, 31n

  investigation and memo from, 31–32, 33–34, 44–46, 48

  later joint public statement by, 35, 43–44, 46–47

  “security referral” story abo
ut, 31, 32–43

  Intelligence Authorization Act, 68–69

  Intelligence Community

  agencies comprising, 31n

  classification of documents by, 45–46, 87–88, 89

  investigation of potential compromise of classified information by, 68–69

  president’s refusal to accept findings of seen as betrayal of trust, 183

  Russian meddling in election reported by, 166, 177–78

  State Department review of Clinton emails and, 69, 74–75

  Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russian officials and, 185, 202–3

  Trump’s refusal to accept findings on Russian meddling from, 166–67, 177, 184

  Intelligence Community Manual, 87–88, 89

  Jefferson, Thomas, 181, 182

  Johnson, Andrew, 161, 162–63

  Johnson, Ron, 103

  Jordan, Will, 151

  judges, Trump’s attacks on, 199–200

  Kahl, Colin H., 185

  Kallstrom, James, 107, 108–9, 115

  Kendall, Brent, 19–20

  Kendall, David, 47, 72

  Kennedy, John F., 10, 180, 201

  Kernberg, Otto, 196

  Kilmeade, Brian, 116

  Kim, Joon, 100

  Kim Jong-un, 200

  Kislyak, Sergey I., 185

  Kushner, Jared, 171

  Lacovara, Philip Allen, 170–71, 172–73

  Larson, Lars, 116, 117

  Lauer, Matt, 52

  Lavrov, Sergey V., 184–85

  Lazar, Marcel-Lehel, 25

  lies as impeachable offense

  constitutional standard on, 167, 175–76, 180–81

  Trump and, 176–80, 181

  Lincoln, Abraham, 161, 162

  Linick, Steve A., 32, 35, 41–42, 43, 47, 77

  Los Angeles Times, 69

  Lynch, Loretta, 78, 94–95, 96, 125, 128, 129

  MacCallum, Martha, 116

  Madison, James, 159–60, 163, 181, 182, 183, 186

  malignant narcissism, 196–98, 201, 203

  Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, 191

  Marshall, Josh, 51

  Matthews, Chris, 9–10

  McCain, John, 143

  McClatchy-Marist poll, 76, 92

  McCullough, I. Charles III, 56

  attorney’s retention of Clinton emails and, 47, 72

  Clinton email classification markings and, 44, 45, 46, 70, 75, 76

  Clinton email review and, 73, 74–75, 77

  Comey’s later letter to Congress and, 64

  criticisms of, 32n

  FBI “referral” memo from, 32, 47–48, 57, 61, 68, 69, 71, 72, 76, 78

  leak about memo content, 76–77

  media coverage of, 32, 35, 36, 41–42

  memo on Clinton’s mishandling of emails from, 31–32, 33–34, 49, 71–72, 77

  public statement from, 35, 43–44, 46–47

  McDermott, Matt, 151

  McDougal, James, 6

  McElwee, Sean, 151

  McLean, Bethany, 92–93, 107, 108, 109, 111–12

  media. See also specific newspapers and magazines

  Abedin’s emails in, 134–35

  Clinton’s caution with, 5, 9, 11

  Clinton’s critical treatment by, 5, 9, 10–11, 54–55, 110–11

  Comey letter to Congress and negative stories in, 133–38, 157

  election result related to Clinton emails coverage in, 55, 136–38

  email classification issues in, 49–50, 77–78, 83, 89–90

  FBI leaks on Clinton investigation to, 102, 106, 109, 111, 112, 114, 117, 124

  Giuliani’s statements about Clinton investigation to, 115–17, 119

  hacking of Powell’s private email server and, 25–26

  Trump’s criticism of, 182–83, 198–99

  Washington Post editorial on emails story coverage by, 52–54

  Whitewater coverage in, 5–7, 8–9, 27, 51, 54, 55

  Mother Jones magazine, 137, 155

  Moynihan, Daniel Patrick, 46

  Mueller, Robert, 106, 158

  Mukasey, Michael, 126

  National Archives and Records Administration, 17, 18, 19, 20

  National Counterintelligence and Security Center, 48

  national security adviser, Flynn as, 170, 171, 184

  National Security Agency (NSA), 31n, 52, 166, 174, 177

  national security issues

  classified information and, 46, 88

  Clinton emails and, 52–53, 70, 90

  threats of nuclear attack on North Korea and, 200–202

  Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russian officials and, 185, 202–3

  Twenty-Fifth Amendment and, 200–203

  newspapers. See media and specific newspapers

  Newsweek magazine, 15–16, 22

  New Yorker magazine, 46, 93–94, 100, 123

  New York Review of Books magazine, 93

  New York Times

  call for Clinton inquiry story (July 23/24) in, 31–35, 36–41

  Clinton emails story (March 2) in, 15–17, 18–19, 20–21, 22, 24, 25, 26

  Clinton’s endorsements by, 55

  Clinton’s negative personal ratings and article by, 24, 51–52

  concerns about email story coverage by, 50–51, 52, 54–55

  critical treatment of Clintons in, 54–55

  errors in Clinton articles by, 15–16, 21, 22, 57, 61

  Powell’s private server use in, 23, 25

  Wall Street Journal’s rivalry with, 19–20

  Whitewater story in, 6, 51, 54, 55

  Nixon, Richard

  impeachment proceedings involving, 159, 162, 163, 164, 168, 175, 176

  tax returns released by, 191

  Watergate and, 170, 174–75, 176

  North Korea, Trump’s threats against, 200–202

  Obama, Barack, 173

  Clinton as secretary of state under, 11

  Clinton’s campaigns compared with, 146, 152–53

  on Comey, 122

  election (2008) of, 9–10, 143, 153

  reelection (2012) of, 143, 146

  Russia’s election meddling and, 129–30

  Trump’s accusations against, 176–77

  obstruction of justice and cover-up

  as impeachment standard, 167, 168n, 173

  Nixon and, 168

  Trump and, 2, 167–75

  Olsen, Matt, 185

  Orrick, William H., 199–200

  Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity (proposed), 201–2

  Painter, Richard W., 173

  Palmieri, Jennifer, 39, 40

  Pence, Mike, 171, 172, 184, 203

  Peres, Shimon, 105

  Petraeus, David, 94

  Pierce, Charles, 54

  Pinckney, Charles, 188

  Podesta, John, 132

  Politico, 118

  polls. See also specific polls

  abrupt declines in, 133, 142–47, 157–58

  Clinton emails story related to low ratings in, 23–24, 51–52

  Comey’s letter and, 1, 33–55

  Comey’s recommendation against criminal prosecution and, 91–92

  Giuliani-Clinton New York Senate race (2000) and, 102, 103

  key battleground states and, 132, 133, 147–55, 158

  pre–October 28 data on Clinton win in, 1, 55, 141–42, 149–50

  trust as issue in, 52

  voters’ sentiments in, 133, 138–42

  Pompeo, Mike, 174

  Powell, Colin, 13–14, 23, 24–26, 28, 29, 53, 777

  presidential campaign (2007–2008), 9–10

  presidential election (November 8, 2016)

  anti-Clinton network and, 119

  candidate forum before, 52

  Clinton’s private email server controversy and, 5, 52–54

  Comey’s awareness of Clinton email investigation and, 100

  Comey’s November 6, 2016, letter about no emails found and, 132

  Comey’s October 28, 2016,
letter and Clinton’s loss in, 1, 157–58

  Comey’s order for review of Clinton emails before, 101

  Comey’s public statement on review of Clinton emails before, 101, 123

  events leading up to, 1–2

  FBI agents’ anti-Clinton beliefs and, 109, 113

  FBI leaks before, 109, 117, 123

  Giuliani on prediction of surprises in weeks before, 116, 119

  Justice Department policy not to take action before, 101, 126–27, 128–29

  media coverage of Clinton emails and result of, 55, 136–38

  polls and. See polls

  possible FBI investigation into Clinton Foundation before, 118–19

  release of Rich pardon documents before, 117–18

  Russian meddling in. See Russian meddling in election

  timing of review of Weiner’s hard drive before, 114, 115

  press freedoms, 167, 181–82

  constitutional standard on attacks on as impeachable offense, 167

  Trump and, 182–83, 199

  Princeton Election Consortium, 144, 147

  ProPublica, 100

  Putin, Vladimir, 177, 178, 181, 184n

  Reagan, Ronald, 201

  24, 147, 151, 153

  Reuters/Ipsos poll, 91, 141

  Rice, Condoleezza, 25

  Rich, Marc, 104, 105–6, 109

  Rogers, Michael S., 166, 171, 174, 175

  Romney, Mitt, 143, 146, 148

  Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 180

  RT (Russian TV news organization), 25

  Russia

  communication between Trump campaign and, 2

  fake news about Clinton spread by, 2

  hacking of emails by, 26

  Trump’s favoring of, as betrayal of public trust, 184–86

  Trump’s Oval Office meeting with officials from, 185, 202–3

  Russian investors, sale of uranium mine to, 110–11

  Russian meddling in election

  Comey’s discovery of fake email from, 125–26

  failure to act after Yates’s warning about, 184

  Flynn and, 170, 171

  Obama’s actions against, 130

  Trump Jr. and, 179–80

  Trump on possibility of, 178

  Trump’s favoring of Russia in, 184–86

  Trump’s legitimacy as president and, 166

  Trump’s lies and cover-up about, as impeachable offense, 167, 177–81

  Trump’s obstruction of justice charges and, 170, 172, 174

  Trump’s rejection of intelligence reports on, 166–67, 184

  Safire, William, 54

  Salinger, Pierre, 180

  117

  Sanders, Bernie, 38

  Schale, Steve, 153

  Schmidt, Michael, 31, 37, 38–40, 57

  Schoen, Doug, 134

  Schumer, Chuck, 107

  Schweizer, Peter, 109–10

  Secret Service, 12, 23, 138, 185, 202

  Senate

  Clinton-Giuliani race (2000) for New York seat in, 102–3

 

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