OPINION:
Michael Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, is all over the media today because he’s released a secretly recorded tape of then-candidate Donald Trump handling a “bimbo eruption.”
Davis knows all about “bimbo eruptions” because he was part of the Bill Clinton administration which invented the practice of keeping women who had incriminating evidence against a candidate or president quiet and paid-off.
Davis also knows how to work the media. And the media love the story he’s selling today. They really love it.
Here he is with Don Lemon on CNN. Here he is giving an exclusive to Mike Allen at Axios. Here he is with his old friend and Clinton-era colleague George Stephanopoulos on ABC. Wow, how did former Clinton official Stephanopoulos score an interview with former Clinton official Davis? That’s some crackerjack journalism right there.
Davis is everywhere.
But this wasn’t the case when he rolled out his book last year. The book, titled The Unmaking of the President 2016: How FBI Director James Comey Cost Hillary Clinton the Presidency is highly critical of former FBI Director James Comey, as the title would suggest.
He blames Comey for Clinton’s loss and excoriates him as a preening narcissist and a duplicitous, self-righteous, sanctimonious liar.
Davis, a consummate Clinton insider even had Hillary at his book party in DC.
But the media coverage was, shall we say, lighter than his current exposure.
After several news and video searches via Google, it’s hard to find many high-profile interviews with Davis about his scathing attack on Comey.
You see, Davis’ blistering attack on Comey didn’t fit the dominant media narrative of the day. Comey is a hero these days. He must remain pristine because he will be crucial in bringing down President Trump with some kind of obstruction of justice charge, or something. So Davis’ criticisms weren’t to be highlighted.
Morning Joe threw him a bone. So did Hardball. But after that, Davis was reduced to C-Span, RT (the Russian-0financed, pro-Putin channel) and a handful of appearances on Fox.
The closest Davis came to an appearance on a Stephanopoulos-controlled ABC show was a mention by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders during an interview. George quickly moved on. Thanks a lot, George.
Maybe it’s because if anyone asked Davis about Comey he’d basically support everything Trump has said about his former FBI Director. I interviewed Davis and he held nothing back:
Davis: Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, I get to decide what rules to follow and which ones not to because you know why, because I’m Jim Comey. Lordy, Lordy.
O’Connor: He does come across a little holier than thou doesn’t he Lanny?
Davis: Oh my God. If you even suggest that he’s done anything wrong … “Me, Jim Comey? I get to play by my own rules. The Justice Department’s 50-year policies under Republican and Democratic administrations, you don’t do anything in the last 60 days that might impact a presidential election the hell with that. I’m Jim Comey.”
Davis: Had he written the letter and she won the election, would she had fired Jim Comey, I don’t know. I know what I would have told her to do. If Comey had done something to Donald Trump for example reveal the Russian meddling finding that the intelligence community had already made in October of 2016 and that had tilted the election against Trump I would have said Comey should be fired for doing that. So I think I would be consistent that he should have been fired. Whether she would have fired him, I can’t guess that.
O’Connor: But based on everything that happened up till November 6th, if Hillary Clinton President-elect said, ‘Lanny, I’d love for you to advise me on this should I keep Jim Comey around’ you would have said, fire that guy?
Davis: I would say you have to fire somebody who puts himself above the Justice Department, above the President, above the Attorney General. The only drum that he listens to is his own. That’s called a narcissist and that’s dangerous in a FBI director, that’s dangerous in anyone but especially a FBI director.
That kind of thinking doesn’t get you booked on the big shows. You’ve got to give these guys something that works toward the Trump impeachment, Lanny. And now he’s found something, or so he thinks.
Sadly, if Lanny ends up finding anything in Cohen’s files that exonerates Trump, it’ll be back to milk cartons for him. Or worse, Morning Joe.
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