Harry Reid Will Cut A Bitch (James Comey. James Comey Is The Bitch, Whom He Will Cut)

Come at me, Bro!

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is good and mad at FBI Director James Comey for sending out that vague, stupid letter about the maybe-pertinent, maybe-irrelevant emails found on Huma Abedin's laptop computer. It made him mad. It made him mean-mad. And so he did what a senior statesman does when he's been pushed too far, and is just a walkin' chunk o' mean-mad: He sent a very sternly worded letter to the malefactor, and as stern letters go, it's a beaut. 

For starters, Reid, like several other government officials outraged by Comey's actions, said the letter to Congress may have violated the Hatch Act, which bars political action by government employees:

Reid noted that "for all you know, the information you possess could be entirely duplicative of the information you already examined which exonerated Secretary Clinton" and went on to remind Comey that Justice Department employees had received a warning back in March that they'd better not engage in any "activity directed towards the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group." Reid said Comey had to know that dropping a vague letter hinting at possible email criming -- but maybe, maybe not, who knows, we're only asking -- 11 days before a national election is, yes, very much going to influence things.

But Reid was just getting started. While the Hatch Act stuff has grabbed most of the headlines, Reid also had bigger fish to fry -- probably Caspian Sea sturgeon:  

So yeah, Director Comey -- what about Trump's connections to the Russians, huh? HUH? Why are you sitting on THAT? The Washington Post daintily notes that while intelligence agencies have accused Russia of attempting to interfere in the 2016 election through hacking Democratic groups and individuals, the intelligence community "has made no statement on links between Russia and Trump or his campaign." So there's your journalistic caution (and obvious pro-Clinton slant; please roll eyes now, thank you).

Now, that accusation that Comey is sitting on information about Trump and Russia is pretty heavy stuff, so what proof does Reid have? His office is pretty much saying he knows things,  is all:

Asked what evidence exists of such a connection, Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson cited classified briefings.

"There have been classified briefings on this topic," Jentleson said. "That is all I can say."

Asked whether the letter means Comey has shared such information directly with Reid, Jentleson said, "Refer you to the language in the letter."

WaPo's Aaron Blake says, "This is the political equivalent of Reid lighting a match, dropping it on a dry ground and walking away." You know, sort of like Comey did last week. This game does get fiery at times, does it not?

Also, for "balance," Tom Cotton, who loves America and the rule of law so much he sent that love note to Iranian leaders reminding them that Barack Obama has no real authority, weighed in on how much everyone hates Harry Reid:

Actually, it's Tom Cotton we're sick of. Harry Reid? He's a BOSS, and we'll miss him. We'll especially miss a guy who closed his letter to Comey with this finely crafted burn:

Hugs 'n' Kisses, XOXOXOXO, Fuck you and the elephant you rode in on.

[ WaPo / Reid Letter / WaPo again]