April 30

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership
By James Comey

Former FBI Director James Comey has been a regular news and talk show feature during the 2 weeks since his memoir was published - so I thought I'd better get a copy of the book and read it for myself.

Fired Director Comey is the person both parties have lashed out against in the last couple of years.  Democrats resent him for reopening the Hillary Clinton email investigation days before the 2016 election (and, although finding no further evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton, quite possibly causing the election to go against her).  Republicans, on the other hand, resent him because Pres Trump fired him (for reasons that remain conflicting and suspect), thus prompting the appointment of a Special Counsel to look into possible collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign.  Having read the memoir as an audiobook (narrated by the author) I have to conclude that he actually came across as an honest guy, one who is driven by a sincere, strict sense of duty.  That's not to say that another equally honest and dedicated person in his shoes would have made the same decisions.

The story opens like a detective novel.  Comey is a high school senior, at home with his younger brother on a Saturday night, when an armed intruder breaks into their house.  After the intruder (who turns out to be the infamous "Ramsay rapist") gets away with some cash, the boys think they are safe - until the man returns!  Fortunately, a neighbor hears the commotion, calls the police, and the man flees.  This harrowing night turns out to be a life-changing experience that starts the young James Comey on a path to a career in law.

Throughout the book the author refers to lessons learned along the way, especially from those with whom he worked. He is not afraid to admit some mistakes.  As a high school student, he held a part time job in a grocery store where his boss was Harry Howell, the store owner.  On one occasion, James thought he could load 6 cartons of milk (packaged in paper containers) on a hand cart; he over estimated his skill, and the cartons fell to the floor, breaking apart and spilling gallons of milk.  Another time, he threw a very expensive labeling tool to a fellow worker, only to have it land on the floor and shatter to bits.  On both occasions, Howell mercifully only asked James to clean up the mess, and never spoke again of the incident.  Lessons learned.

After graduating from the College of William and Mary and University of Chicago Law School, Comey held a number of positions, notably with the DA's Office for the Southern District of NY, where he helped prosecute the Gambino crime family, then as Deputy Attorney General in the G W Bush administration.  Notable cases were limiting the Terrorist Surveillance (citizen wiretapping) Program to make it consistent with US law (quite a story, involving a bedside foray to AG John Ashcroft, in intensive care at GWU Hospital) and reigning in enhanced interrogation (torture) techniques when interviewing suspects.

After a stint as a lawyer in the private sector, Comey was tapped by President Obama to head the FBI in 2013.  During this directorship, the FBI's most visible investigations have been Hillary Clinton's email while serving as Secretary of State and Russian interference in the US presidential election.  Ironically, both events were key in the outcome of the 2016 election.  Comey continues on (briefly) into the Trump White House, and is disturbed to discover that the new president operates much like the crime family dons whom he prosecuted, and who expected personal loyalty.  About four months into the Trump era, Comey is giving a talk at the FBI office in Los Angeles when a TV monitor catches his eye; much to his surprise, he learns that he has resigned as Director of the FBI!

The Clinton investigation is complete, with no evidence of wrongdoing.  The Russian interference investigation is ongoing.

This is a very readable, worthwhile story.  Both of the prior cases involved technology (email, internet, Facebook) that I don't believe we, as a nation, have quite come to grips with.  In any case, we still don't know how to protect our information.