| James Comey | |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Christopher A. Wray |
| 31st United States Deputy Attorney General | |
| In office December 9, 2003 – August 15, 2005 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
James Brien Comey Jr. ( / ˈkoʊmi /; born December 14, 1960) is an American lawyer who was the 7th director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until his dismissal in May 2017. Comey was a registered Republican for most of his adult life; however, in 2016, he described himself as unaffiliated.
Comey had been criticized in 2016 for his handling of the FBI 's investigation of the Hillary Clinton email controversy and in 2017 for the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections as it related to alleged collusion with Trump's presidential campaign.
On May 8, 2017, Trump directed Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to provide advice and input in writing. On Trump's direction, on May 9, Rosenstein prepared and delivered a memorandum to Sessions relating to Comey (Sessions and Rosenstein had already begun considering whether to dismiss Comey months earlier). Rosenstein's memorandum said that the "reputation and credibility" of the FBI had been damaged under Comey's tenure, and the memo presented critical quotes from several former attorneys general in previously published op-eds; Rosenstein concluded that their "nearly unanimous opinions" were that Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation was "wrong." In his memo, Rosenstein asserted that the FBI must have "a Director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them." He ended with an argument against keeping Comey as FBI director, on the grounds that he was given an opportunity to "admit his errors" but that there is no hope that he will "implement the necessary corrective actions." Rosenstein also criticized Comey on two other grounds: for usurping the prerogative of the Justice Department and the Attorney General in his July 2016 public statements announcing the closure of the investigation into Clinton's emails, and for making derogatory comments about Clinton in that same meeting. Both of these actions, he argued, were in conflict with longstanding FBI practice. To Comey's previous defense that Attorney General Loretta Lynch had a conflict of interest, Rosenstein argued that in such a case, it is the duty of the Attorney General to recuse herself, and that there is a process for another Justice Department official to take over her duties.
Dismissal of James Comey. James Comey, the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was fired by U.S. President Donald Trump on May 9, 2017. Comey had been criticized in 2016 for his handling of the FBI 's investigation of the Hillary Clinton email controversy and in 2017 for the FBI's investigation ...
Bush administration as Deputy Attorney General. He was appointed FBI Director by President Barack Obama. Comey was confirmed by the Senate in 2013 by a vote of 93–1.
In January 2017, Comey testified to Congress confirming Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and confirmed an ongoing investigation, although he refused to comment specifically on the Trump organization. President-elect Trump stated his intention to keep Comey as the FBI director.
On June 7, 2017, during an interview with MSNBC, House Speaker Paul Ryan stated that it's "obviously" inappropriate for the president to ask the FBI director for loyalty. According to sources, Comey's unwillingness to offer personal loyalty to Trump was one of the reasons for the firing.
Comey, in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8, objected strongly to Trump's description of the FBI as "in disarray" and "poorly led". "The administration chose to defame me, and more importantly the FBI," Comey said. "Those were lies, plain and simple.".
James Comey was the seventh director of the FBI; the first was J. Edgar Hoover … James Comey is 6’8″ tall, according to a 2014 report in New York magazine… James Comey met his wife, Patricia Failor, at William & Mary; as a young woman she served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. They have five children: Maurene, Katherine, Brien, Claire and Abby. Another son, Collin, was 9 days old when he died from a bacterial infection in 1995… James Comey is a Methodist, according to a 2014 report from the United Methodist Church.
attorney whose controversial tenure as Director of the FBI ended abruptly when he was fired by President Donald Trump on May 9, 2017.