The hubris of James Comey

June 6, 2023

OPINION:

Former FBI Director James Comey considers himself a political kingmaker. Arguably, no one within the bureaucratic “deep state” has done more to interfere, influence, and undermine the American electoral process, than Mr. Comey.

Mr. Comey refused to be interviewed by special counsel John Durham. Yet, Mr. Durham’s report outlines just how culpable he was in spreading the bogus Russia collusion narrative.

Mr. Durham’s report details how in April 2016, Mr. Comey requested from his staff any “relevant information pertaining to any Presidential candidate.” Soon, Carter Page, a recently named Trump adviser with purported connections to Russia, became a “top priority for Director Comey.”

Mr. Comey’s FBI “failed to act” on a “clear warning sign” that the bureau was the “target” of a Hillary Clinton-led scheme to “manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes” before the 2016 presidential election. The report concluded the FBI didn’t have enough “factual evidence” to investigate Mr. Trump on the claims of Russia collusion.

That same year, Mr. Comey declined to pursue charges against Mrs. Clinton for mishandling classified information on a private email server. The Durham report concluded that the FBI displayed “markedly different” treatment of the Clinton and Trump campaigns during its investigations.

Mr. Comey vigorously pursued the fictional Steele Dossier, despite the fact FBI staff raised concerns about the validity of the report. Mr. Comey told his subordinates to move ahead and try to validate the dossier’s claims “despite [their] concerns.”

The then-director engaged “on a very regular basis” with the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Mr. Trump beginning in summer 2016. Mr. Comey was at the briefing of President Obama, then-Vice President Joe Biden, and others in the Democratic White House on the investigation. He tried to politically coerce (some would say blackmail) Mr. Trump by vaguely telling him about the dossier during the transition period before he formally took the White House reins.

After being fired by Mr. Trump, Mr. Comey leaked a memo of one of his briefings with the former president, with the stated goal of prompting a Special Counsel to investigate Mr. Trump. It worked. The Russia-collusion investigation would continue, despite Mr. Comey’s departure, and plague the Trump White House for another year, before concluding no definitive evidence could be produced to support the claim.

When Mr. Durham’s report was released, Mr. Comey nonchalantly called it a “nothingburger.”

“There’s nothing new in that report about the FBI. No new facts,” Mr. Comey blithely told Los Angeles TV station KTLA on May 30.
No lessons learned, no contrition, no remorse.

Instead, Mr. Comey is now on a book tour, promoting his mystery novel “Central Park West” to the accolades of our propaganda press – which is doing its very best to rehabilitate Mr. Comey’s image.

“There’s always going to be mistakes,” Mr. Comey told MSNBC last week in response to Mr. Durham’s findings. “It doesn’t mean the FBI isn’t competent, honest and independent … In the main, the FBI did it the right way during a very difficult time in 2016.”

In Mr. Comey’s eyes, Mr. Trump still “poses a near-existential threat to the rule of law.”

Why, you may ask?

“Think about what four years of a retribution presidency might look like. [Mr. Trump] could order the investigation and prosecution of individuals who he sees as enemies,” Mr. Comey told Jen Psaki on MSNBC over the weekend.

In other words, Mr. Comey is afraid Mr. Trump may actually hold those in the bureau accountable for politically motivated investigations. Mr. Comey added he considers himself to be on Mr. Trump’s “enemies list.”

So, it’s no surprise the self-described “nonpartisan” former director has thrown his full weight behind Mr. Biden.

“It has to be Joe Biden!,” Mr. Comey exclaimed when asked who he would vote for in 2024. “The president must be someone who abides [by] the law and our constitution. And there is no one else but Joe Biden.”

Yes, the same Joe Biden who is being investigated by the House Oversight Committee in bribery schemes from foreign governments in return for political favors. The same Joe Biden whose son is under federal investigation for cheating the IRS as well as his own foreign entanglements, which may have compromised his father.

Then, Mr. Comey made a more ominous statement: “I hope the intelligence community is equipped to respond [to alleged Russian interference in the 2024 election] better than they did in the 2016 election.”

For Mr. Trump may very well be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. And for many in the bureau – Mr. Comey included – Mr. Trump must be stopped at all costs.

Democracy and the people’s will be damned.