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A Lesson To Learn From Comey And The American System

Former FBI director, now private citizen James Comey, testified today in front of the Intelligence Committee of the Senate about the Trump-Russian investigation he once led when he was still in the bureau. He released a paper containing his testimony 24 hours before he appeared. So the press and the Senators know what he is about to say in the public part of Comey's testimony. They of course, has closed sessions with Comey where they can ask questions with no reservations.

James Comey already leaked his memos to a lawyer friend who in turn released it to the Washinton Post. So we, the public, know the details of his interactions with Trump, the president-elect, up to the point when he was fired by Trump. This is definitely a scandal as big as Watergate. The implications are that a foreign power, russia, interfered with a US presidential election and Trump's people are continuing to have communications with the russians. That Trump tried to convince James Comey to let Michael Flynn go. That Trump tried to influence James Comey to drop the Trump-Russia investigation. The situation here is this, the americans have a president who is under investigation by his own FBI, so any contact between Comey and his president about the russian investigation is an interference on a current investigation. Comey's testimony says that the interference is explicit. His reluctance led to him being fired. In fact Trump said so in his interview with Lester Holt of MSNBC.

In the United States, every american who love their country, hold their laws and institutions with respect. No president sits above the law. If Trump did obtruct the law he will face impeachment. 

Here in the Philippines, Joseph Estrada who faced impeachment before, returns to politics as mayor of Manila. Wala tayong bait sa sarili. Our institutions are weak. Our laws, well, look at our lawmakers and how they behave. The Marcoses are back in Ilocos and Bongbong Marcos is a member of the House of Representatives. Most Filipinos see these as partisan politics not disrespect of institutions and country. Let's hold our laws up. Let's renew our loyalty to the Constitution. Let's put deserving men and women in Congress. Federalism is not what we need. What we need is to strengthen our state institutions, not destroy them.

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