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Article snippet: In any reality-TV show — if we can agree that that is what American politics has morphed into — there comes the moment where one of the stars reads his or her co-stars for filth. Sue Hawk delivered her famous “rat and snake” speech about her opponents on the first season of “Survivor.” Teresa Giudice flipped over a table on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” The fired F.B.I. director James B. Comey’s camera manner is more suited for a human-resources video than a reality-show throwdown. But speaking to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, live on cable and broadcast news, Mr. Comey demonstrated that he was not there to make friends — at least not with the president who he said fired him because of the investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 election. Mr. Comey opened by calling Donald J. Trump, under oath, a liar. I should distinguish that from merely accusing Mr. Trump of telling a lie. Mr. Comey did that, too: In measured opening remarks, just tinged with anger, he said that the president’s characterizations of him and the F.B.I. were “lies, plain and simple.” But maybe more shockingly, Mr. Comey said that Mr. Trump was a liar to his essence. Mr. Comey had taken detailed notes on their conversations because of “the nature of the person,” he said. “I was honestly concerned that he might lie.” You could argue that — by the expectations set by political fiction and the excited walk-up to the testimony — Mr. Comey’s testimony lacked smoking gun... Link to the full article to read more