I listened to the Senate hearing in which James Comey testified about President Trump’s behavior, the charge that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and whether President Trump was under investigation or not. 

Nobody came off clean. What came through clearly was that there is no trust in Washington.

Director Comey felt that he must keep memoranda for the record of his conversations with the president, and then leak them.

It also impressed me that Donald Trump knew that Comey had told him three times that he was not under investigation, and exactly how he was told each time. Either there are recordings that Trump can access or Trump felt that he should keep records of his conversations with James Comey. 

I cannot remember what I said or heard three months ago. Neither, I suspect, can the president.

The other thing that came through loud and clear was that the media have been frequently wrong. I don’t recall that Comey used the term “fake news,” but he didn’t think the media accurately reported much of the time.

Comey, who admitted that he was also a leaker, agreed with President Trump that the media bases reports on sources that don’t know what’s going on in government. To paraphrase Comey, those who talk don’t know, and those who know, don’t talk.

All this made me grateful that my wife and I moved from the Washington area to Niles in 2005.  The air in Niles is not as humid and the traffic is much better. Even better than that, I have never felt the need to write a memo for the record since then. When I speak to my neighbors and friends, I take them at their word.

Michael Waldron

Niles