In other news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by over 1,500 points this afternoon before recovering to be down just 1,150 points as of this writing. For perspective, that means the market lost almost as much value as the GOP's entire tax cut bill. It's the largest single-day point drop in history.
Meanwhile, Politico reports that the Pentagon's Defense Logistic Agency has lost track of nearly a billion dollars and they don't even have a way to account for it. But who's counting?
Finally, Lawfare has obtained emails from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act that show no one contacted the White House in any official capacity to say they were disappointed with former Director James Comey. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed the "rank and file" in the FBI "lost confidence" in Comey, but the truth is they were all blindsided.
Their disclosure was not a leak but an authorized action by the FBI, which released to us under the Freedom of Information Act more than 100 pages of leadership communications to staff dealing with the firing. This material tells a dramatic story about the FBI’s reaction to the Comey firing—but it is neither a story of gratitude to the president nor a story of an organization in turmoil relieved by a much-needed leadership transition.
Within a few days of the firing, both current and former FBI officials began pushing back against the White House’s claims. Then-Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said that Comey “enjoyed broad support within the FBI" and that “the vast majority of employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey.” [...]
The bureau identified 116 pages of responsive material and withheld only 13 pages, so this material constitutes the overwhelming bulk of communications to staff on the subject of the firing.
I doubt anyone needed confirmation that Trump and Huckabee-Sanders are liars, but there it is.
We're 3 days away from a possible government shutdown, by the way.