It is hard to see how, short of divulging information given to him in confidence, that Grassley could be any more clear that the FBI is not investigating Trump. Given the stakes, it is difficult to understand why Comey would give private assurances that Trump was not under investigation and refuse to give those same assurances to the American people. Comey’s fall back on “standard procedure” rings hollow given the way he has operated over the last year. So one is left with three unflattering explanations. Comey has a political tin-ear. Comey is deliberately making mischief for Trump. Comey is bootstrapping the Russia probe into a tool to increase FBI resources by preventing that investigation from ever ending. Any of the three explanations is more than enough reason to drop kick him.