Remember in Christmas Story when Ralphie discovers the long-awaited secret message from Little Orphan Annie was just an ad for Ovaltine? I suspect liberals must feel something of the same after reading James Comey’s Memos.

Zero hint of Donald Trump colluding with Russia. Zero hint of Trump trying to obstruct justice. Even the “loyalty” talk — which Comey had pitched as something akin to Gambino family blood oath — came in the context of FBI leaks. No silver bullet to slay the President. Not even anything worth a noogie on the head for the President. Just an effort to sell the public on the need for special counsel.

By his own admission Comey leaked material from the memos to force the appointment of Mueller. He succeeded. But read them yourself. Then tell me, what in the world was in those memos that would justify the creation of a special counsel? Instead of drinking Ovaltine, the media has been drinking the Kool-Aid.

Was Comey Duped as Well?

Comey’s got a really bad hand. Either he is part of an effort to sabotage the duly elected president of the United States or he is a dupe of monumental proportions.

Here’s the scene: James Comey goes to brief the president-elect on the salacious elements of the Steele Dossier. While Comey shares details of Russian hookers and assorted lurid business, he deliberately avoids mentioning that the “information” was paid for by Hillary Clinton.

What he does say is CNN is itching to run the story. CNN has drooled over the dossier for a while, but knows it’s unverified trash they can’t run on its own merits. CNN needs a news hook. (Interestingly, FBI and DOJ would run with it to the FISA courts. How tragic when a ratings-starved, Trump-hating, news outlet has more integrity than the Obama FBI and DOJ.)

Wouldn’t you know it? Practically by the time Comey’s elevator hits the lobby of Trump Tower, his meeting with Trump is leaked to CNN. CNN has its news hook. The dossier — and the Trump-Russia collusion tale — becomes a mainstream media and Democratic obsession. Convenient, huh? Almost like it was planned.

According to Comey’s memo, the idea to brief Trump on the dirt came from then Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. (For reference, Clapper is the guy who lied to Congress about the NSA’s surveillance of Americans.) Sara Carter reported in March that Clapper leaked the Trump-Comey meeting details to CNN. (Here’s more on what Clapper was up to.)

Trump was set up. The meeting wasn’t to inform him. It was give to CNN its news hook. It was to undermine the President-elect.

Was Comey in on the hit-job? Why didn’t he tell Trump the information came from the Hillary camp? Clearly, if Trump knew the source he would have pounced all over CNN within seconds. The story would have been defused before it could explode. For that matter, the pre-Inaugural renewal of the FISA warrant would have blown up in the FBI’s faces.

A conscious decision was made to keep this vital information about the Russia allegations from Trump. Information from a dossier being used to conduct surveillance on Trump. (Even Sunday, Rep. Devin Nunes asserted that no intelligence was used to justify the launch of an investigation into Trump.)

Who in the world would decide to keep vital information on the Russian investigation away from Trump?

The day before Comey met with Trump he was at a White House meeting where that very topic was discussed. You remember the letter Susan Rice wrote herself on the way out the door Inauguration day? Rice put it this way:

From a national security perspective, however, President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming [Trump] team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.

This was right after Obama, according to Rice,  “stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective.” 

It just happens the very next day, Obama’s chief law enforcement officer, encouraged by his chief intelligence operator, went to meet the new chief executive and deliberately withheld the fact the chief evidence being used against him was paid for by his chief rival.

Questions for Comey

Meanwhile, James Comey continues his book tour. He’s scheduled to appear on Fox News with Bret Baier on Thursday. Hopefully, even before then he will be directly asked some fair questions.

1. When your meeting was leaked to CNN did you feel duped by Clapper or that things had gone according to plan?
2. Was the decision to keep the vital detail of Hillary’s involvement in the dossier yours alone or was it discussed with others? Who?
3. In the meeting with Obama the day before you met with Trump, did he really say twice that he wanted everything “done by the book”? Who talks like that in real life? And “by the book” did he mean your book?
4. FBI lawyer Lisa Page said Obama wanted to know “everything we are doing.” What did she mean by “everything”?
5. Susan Rice says the dossier was not discussed in that White House meeting. You told George Stephanopoulos you did not use the name Steele dossier with Trump. Similarly, was the “information” from the dossier discussed, but not by name?
6. You testified that you leaked some of the Memos to force the creation of a special counsel. Yet nothing in the actual Memos would warrant a special counsel. You told Trump, “I don’t do sneaky things. I don’t leak. I don’t do weasel moves.” You definitely leaked. It certainly looks sneaky. How was it not a weasel move?
7. And if you weren’t the one being sneaky, who in the Obama Administration was?
8. A bit of a personal question: I’ve read the Memos. I’ve seen the interviews. Seen your style. When do you start writing your first fictional political thriller/mystery? You know, starring the straight-arrow agent torn apart by partisans, who rushes in to save the nation from disaster. That, I suspect, will be a best-seller actually worth reading.

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream. He’s also co-author of the upcoming book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. It’s out May 21, but you can pre-order right this very moment.