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<\/a>There is\u00a0an interesting interview<\/a>\u00a0this week with former FBI Director James Comey.\u00a0 He states that he now believes that the infamous alleged \u201cpee tape\u201d may be real and makes other surprising statements while pitching his new book.\u00a0 One statement, however, stood out: \u201cThe Republican party needs to be burned down \u2026 It\u2019s just not a healthy political organization.\u201d Since\u00a0the Republican National Committee was targeted with a pipe bomb i<\/a>n the recent riots, some could argue that this is incitement to arson or violence. I would not. I would call it free speech and hyperbole. The question is where the line is drawn given the impeachment of Donald Trump based on his speech and the allegations that others who used such hyperbolic language are actually guilty of incitement.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nAs I have previously stated, I condemned Trump\u2019s speech in a series of tweets while it was being given and I\u00a0called for a bipartisan vote of censure<\/a>\u00a0over his responsibility in the riots. However, I opposed the use of a snap impeachment by the House and raised concerns over the framing of the article of impeachment as an \u201cincitement to insurrection.\u201d Despite the chorus of legal experts insisting that the speech would constitute a strong case for criminal incitement (and the\u00a0DC Attorney General said he may charge Trump<\/a>), I believe such a prosecution would eventually\u00a0collapse on free speech grounds<\/a>\u00a0if based solely on this speech and Trump\u2019s other public statements.<\/p>\n Comey is not alone in the use of such rhetoric in today\u2019s super-heated political environment. We previously discussed how conservatives have pointed to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) calling for people to confront Republican\u00a0\u00a0leaders in restaurants; Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) insisted during 2020\u2019s violent protests that\u00a0\u201c<\/b>there needs to be unrest in the streets,\u201d\u00a0while then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said \u201cprotesters should not let up\u201d even as many protests were turning violent. They can all legitimately argue that their rhetoric was not meant to be a call for violence, but this is a standard fraught with subjectivity.<\/p>\n The question is whether Comey would be charged under this same logic if the RNC building was attacked again and actually burned down. That would be obviously ridiculous. However, where is the line drawn?\u00a0 Free speech demands bright lines and those are being erased in our cancel culture from universities to the media to Congress.<\/p>\n The interview also had this remarkable statement on the allegation in the Christopher Steele dossier that the Russian government had a video of Trump watching sex workers urinate on each other in a Moscow hotel room in 2013:<\/p>\n \u201cIt came to us in late September. We had information since the summer with which it was consistent and I didn\u2019t know what to make of it, but, because it was from a source who had a track record with the FBI, our team dove into it to see if they could replicate it. I still don\u2019t know. I actually think\u00a0the Senate intelligence committee report<\/a>, coupled with [former Trump lawyer] Michael Cohen\u2019s account in his book, probably makes the \u2018pee tape\u2019 stuff more likely than it was when I was fired.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That is an extraordinary assertion based on a widely discredited dossier and the equally discredited Michael Cohen. Comey does not cite what in the Senate intelligence report gives credence to the allegation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Comey does make a point that I agree with. He does not understand how the rioters gained access to the Capitol and he wants an investigation. I voiced the same suspicion the day of the riot. All of these questions should be answered in a full and transparent way.<\/p>\n The call for a commission is far more constructive than Comey\u2019s version of the \u201cburn baby burn\u201d mantra.<\/p>\n\n