In a new interview on National Public Radio (NPR) Former FBI Director James Comey expressed grave concerns about the unique threat that President Donald Trump poses to our democracy and to the rule of law in this country.
Trump has been relentlessly attacking Comey on twitter for days, saying he has committed crimes and should go to jail. (He seems to have forgotten the concept of jury trials and “innocent until proven guilty.”)
Comey seems very concerned about Trump’s attacks, and said on NPR that the president threatening a private citizen with jail time “is not normal.”
“President Trump, I don’t follow him on Twitter but I get to see his tweets tweeted, I don’t know how many, but some tweets this past couple of days that I should be in jail,” Comey said. “The president of the United States just said that a private citizen should be jailed.”
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“I think the reaction of most of us was, ‘meh, that’s another one of those things.’ But this is not normal. This is not OK,” Comey emphasized. He also expressed his view that unless voters respond appropriately to what Trump is doing there is a “danger” to democracy in America.
“There’s a danger that we will become numb to it, and we will stop noticing the threats to our norms. The threats to the rule of law and the threats most of all to the truth,” Comey said.
“Lady Justice can’t be peeking under the blindfold to see if Donald Trump wants her to convict so-and-so and not convict so-and-so. If we lose that, we’ve lost the rule of law, and so there’s great danger in the president of the United States saying ‘you should be in jail,'” Comey said.
Trump is sounding more and more like a dictator every day. He has expressed admiration for brutal dictators around the globe, and seems to be trying to emulate them here in the U.S. . While many Democrats are still upset with Comey for what he did to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton, most are now happy that he is pointing out the unique risks associated with the Trump presidency.
Some people are cynical and point out that Comey is just out to promote sales of his new book which is a memoir entitled “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, And Leadership.” It is actually being published today but has been at the top of the best seller lists for weeks.
While Comey continues to blitz the media with appearances over the next few weeks, we would do well to heed his words:Â Donald Trump is as threat to democracy and the rule of law.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
