FBI Director’s Dismissal – The World Wants To Know the Truth

Published in Chunichi Shimbun
(Japan) on 13 May 2017
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Deborah Chapin. Edited by Rachel Pott.
It cannot be helped that President Trump’s dismissal of FBI Director James Comey is being criticized as a blatant move to crush the investigation into Russian ties. I would like to warn that, unless the “Russiagate" suspicion can be explained, the United States will face grave problems in the future.

The reason for this swift, shocking dismissal concerns former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email controversy last July. Comey overstepped the attorney general’s authority, and on his own, announced that there was nothing substantial to warrant prosecution. If this was seen as a problem in the last administration, why did President Trump not dismiss Comey at the time of his inauguration? It cannot be said that this is a convincing reason.

More importantly, in a House Intelligence Committee meeting in March, Comey declared that the Russiagate suspicions were being investigated. It seems this was the more natural trigger for his dismissal. An editorial in The New York Times concluded that, “Mr. Comey was fired because he was leading an active investigation that could bring down a president.”

These allegations are related to the cyberattack in which a large quantity of emails from Clinton’s Democratic campaign were leaked to the public during last year’s presidential election. The United States government declared this to be Russia’s doing, but doubt spread as people began questioning whether the Trump campaign was also part of the conspiracy.

If this is true, Russia sent the White House a figure who is under their thumb, which would be a grave situation for the security of the United States. It is like a real-life spy novel.

Since the presidential election, Trump has shown a desire to improve relations with Russia. If steps are actually taken toward unity, it could look suspect. In order for this not to be so, it is necessary for the right and wrong concerning these suspicions to be clarified.

National Security Advisor Flynn, who is surrounded by allegations, was dismissed in February because it came to light that he discussed Russian sanctions with the Russian ambassador to the United States before the inauguration. Flynn also admitted that he had been paid by Russia and Turkey without authorization from U.S. authorities.

It has been confirmed that Attorney General Sessions met twice with the Russian ambassador, despite his congressional testimony to the contrary. He was compelled to remove himself from any part of the Russiagate investigation. Trump’s administration is overshadowed by suspicion.

President Nixon, who dismissed a special prosecutor who was investigating the Watergate scandal, was driven to resign in the end. The will of the people who wish to know the truth is stronger than those in power. Trump should keep this in mind.


 あからさまな捜査つぶしと非難されても仕方がない。トランプ米大統領がコミー連邦捜査局(FBI)長官を解任した。「ロシアゲート疑惑」を解明しないと米国は深刻な禍根を残すと警告したい。
 電撃解任の理由は、クリントン元国務長官の私用メール問題をめぐり昨年七月、コミー氏が司法長官の権限を侵害し、「訴追に相当せず」と勝手に発表したことだ。
 前政権時代の行為を問題視するのなら、なぜトランプ氏は大統領就任時に更迭しなかったのか。説得力のある理由とは到底言えない。
 それよりも、コミー氏が三月に議会で、ロシアゲート疑惑を捜査中だと明言したことが解任の引き金になったと見る方が自然だ。ニューヨーク・タイムズ紙は社説で「大統領を失脚させるかもしれない捜査を指揮したことで解任された」と断じた。
 この疑惑は、昨年の大統領選中、民主党のクリントン陣営がサイバー攻撃を受けて大量のメールが外部に流出したことに絡む。米政府はロシアの仕業と断定したが、トランプ陣営も結託していたのでないかという疑いが広がった。
 これが事実ならば、ロシアは自分の息のかかった人物をホワイトハウスに送り込んだわけで、米国の安全保障にとって由々しき事態だ。スパイ小説を地で行くような話である。
 トランプ氏は大統領選の時からロシアとの関係改善に意欲を見せていた。実際に融和路線に踏み出せば、勘繰られるだろう。そうならないためにも、疑惑について黒白をはっきりさせる必要がある。
 疑惑の渦中にあるフリン大統領補佐官(国家安全保障問題担当)が二月に更迭されたのは、駐米ロシア大使と対ロ制裁の扱いを就任前に協議していたことが明るみに出たためだった。
 フリン氏は米当局の許可を得ずにロシア、トルコから報酬を受けていたことも露見している。
 セッションズ司法長官は議会証言に反してロシア大使と二度会っていたことが判明。ロシアゲート疑惑の捜査には一切関与しないと表明せざるを得なくなった。トランプ政権にはうさんくささがつきまとっている。
 ウォーターゲート事件を捜査していた特別検察官を解任したニクソン大統領は、結局退陣に追い込まれた。
 真相を知ろうという人々の意志は強権よりも強い。トランプ氏はこれを肝に銘ずべきだ。
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