A Book A Week

I recently read a news article about the top bestselling books of this year. It turns out that the majority of these books have one thing in common, Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, you can't deny that the American President dominates the news like none before him. We can't seem to get enough of him. In A Higher Loyalty, one of the most anticipated books of the year, fired FBI Director James Comey reflects upon his years of public service and his encounters with President Trump that would ultimately end his career.

Beyond the scandal and outrage surrounding his role in the investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails and his unexpected firing, I really wasn't familiar with James Comey. Throughout the book, Comey builds a portrait of his commitment to the higher institutions of government. His early days as a lawyer saw him soon working under the New York Department of Justice. His encounters during this time served as a foundation for his views that no one is above the law. When the New York DOJ learned of Martha Stewart's insider trading, Comey was quick to push for a criminal trial.

As the Deputy Attorney General under President George W. Bush, Comey continued to campaign for truth and justice. Specifically, when he learned of the questionable interrogation tactics that would later be classified as torture, Comey went against the wishes of the administration to fight for better practices under the law. He would ultimately be proved to have been on the right side of history in this instance.

The highest profile and most controversial era of Comey's public service came during his tenure as FBI Director. He was surprised that the Democratic President Obama would hire someone who served a Republican administration, but Comey was hired for his independence from politics, not his loyalty to a specific party. The unprecedented nature of the 2016 election saw Comey face the largest challenges of his professional life. The investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server to conduct official state business was one of the biggest talking points of that race. When Comey announced that the investigation was being reopened just a few days before the vote, he did so because he believed the American people needed to know. He describes institutions like the Justice Department and FBI as holding a "reservoir of trust". By being open about the ongoing investigation, he hoped to maintain that trust.

There's no doubt the main draw of this book is to read Comey's perspective on his interactions with the President and his firing. Most of what is written about these moments has already been made public through Comey's statements to congress. In comparison to his interactions with the previous two administrations, Trump's attempts to pull in the FBI Director to his inner circle at the White House are very alarming. If what Comey claims is true, it seems clear that the current administration did not see a need to separate the FBI from the politics of the presidency. History will ultimately judge this situation and show if Comey's firing was truly an obstruction of justice. Having read about his life in his own words, I'm still not entirely sure what that judgement will be. There is no denying that Comey is a fascinating, if a bit problematic, figure who deserves to be heard and recognized.

For more information, visit Amazon and Goodreads.

(2018, 19)