No question that people in positions of authority must speak carefully when they're dealing with official business. It would appear that in Trump's very first days as an elected politician he had yet to learn the ropes. But was there criminal intent on his part? Not even Comey thinks so.

The kind of discussions Trump had with Comey probably occur a hundred times a day in Washington. Situations that don't rise above a simple request like Trump's may be inappropriate, but they're not illegal. You'll never even know they happened, except if one of the parties decides to use it against the other for political reasons.

When an elected official makes an inappropriate request of a bureaucrat, the proper response is straightforward. "No, I can't do that," along with an explanation why. Many presidents have received just that answer. Comey could've responded that way, or asked for a clarification. Instead he just sat there in silence.