I don’t know either James Comey or Donald Trump. Each says the other is lying, but only one is compulsively dishonest, so Comey’s version is likely closer to the truth. But is it the whole truth?
To find out, let’s explore the mind of James Comey before, during and after the key meeting with Trump of February 14th. Since I presume to be your guide in this quest, you deserve to know my qualifications. They are as follows: I was a career bureaucrat myself for many years, some of them spent in thrall to superiors of mind-bending ineptitude who nonetheless had power over my career. I know by experience that to succeed in that situation you need good tactical skills, a flatterer’s amiability, constant wariness, and an instinct for self-preservation. An ability to manipulate the narrative is also a definite plus. You may retain principles, but principles are fragile support in Washington, and you won’t stand on yours too often. Above all, you need a sense of what the other man is actually after—what his real priorities are.
What follows is an entirely fictitious attempt to get at what Comey might have been thinking as he played out his part in the present drama. The names haven’t been changed because no one in the story is entirely innocent, but any resemblance to what actually happened is purely coincidental. Perhaps Comey is as he presents himself in public: the sort of man who walks naked into the arena, the sort stunned into silence by duplicity. You, valued reader, must decide.
Comey speaks, beginning with the meeting of February 14th:
“I was prepared, of course. I am always prepared. When Trump sent everyone else out of the room, I knew the subject would be Flynn and the Russians. Trump was obsessed with those investigations to the exclusion of almost anything else. He didn’t know the details, but he knew the news wasn’t good and bound to get worse. He had counted on Sessions to keep the lid on, but Sessions, who had Russian problems of his own, had sniffed what was brewing and promptly recused himself. Now Trump would come after me: He had no other choice.
“My goal was to remain Director of the FBI, permanently if I could manage it, but at least long enough to finish the Russian investigation and nail Flynn and the rest of them. It was a prosecutor’s dream: a once-in-a-lifetime mixture of ambition, sedition, corruption and money. Trump’s goal, I knew, was compromise or co-opt me so I wouldn’t be a threat to him. Just how he would go about that I couldn’t predict. For my part, I would play for time, and thought I knew how: the ‘Thomas More gambit.’
“As the product of a Catholic education, I knew the story well. Thomas More’s predicament was a bit like mine. He, too, fell under the sway of an erratic and domineering superior who would do literally anything to get what he wanted. He, too, must refuse on principle to do as he was asked. He could not consent, but he could not confront; so he chose silence.
“When the others had departed, I knew that Trump was about to make his pitch. I would not agree. But if there were any path to avoid confrontation—to not disagree—I would take it. And Trump did leave an opening, as I was sure he would. He was cunning enough not to give me a direct order about Flynn and Russia. But he could ask me a favor. The background was his comment at our earlier meeting that he expected my total loyalty. I knew what he meant: I could stay at the FBI, but he would want favors in return. It was all by implication, of course—nothing actionable. But he’d been a little too cunning. Since he hadn’t given me a direct order, I could avoid a direct response. So, as I had planned and would later describe in my public testimony, I said nothing. My face remained blank. If he wanted to take my silence as consent, fine. I would not disabuse him.
“It helped that I assured him that he, personally, was not under investigation. That was no more than the truth. I didn’t mention that Watergate had not begun with Nixon but had led to Nixon. I think he already had some inkling of that. It’s perhaps why he’s awake to tweet at three a.m.
“Leaving that meeting I knew the clock was ticking. My tactic of silence would work only for so long. More, after all, had lost his head. Perhaps I could push the investigation fast enough, or orchestrate public disclosure with sufficient skill, to make myself invulnerable at the FBI. More likely, Trump would catch on quickly that I had no intention of blocking the investigations, and he would fire me. In either case, I wanted a special prosecutor.
“A few days later, with the investigations moving as before, Trump made a final effort. He called and mentioned ‘that thing’ we had. He was talking about the agreement he thought we had made. I didn’t respond, but it was my signal to get Bob Mueller in place. I knew Bob was willing. Rod Rosenstein, eager to get himself out of the line of fire, was quick to take up the suggestion.
“That left me vulnerable on a couple of points, but they were easily dealt with in my public testimony. The trick is to admit your fault before the adversary has a chance to point it out. So I talked about leaking the contents of the memo I had written after the White House session. I was bluff and honest. (Fans of Harry Flashman will recognize the tactic.) For the rest, I simply planted a question with Senator Susan Collins’s staff. So it came to pass that during my open testimony she asked why I hadn’t told the President immediately that his request—indeed, the entire conversation—was inappropriate. I said it was a good question, and I should know because I wrote it. I responded that I was merely an honest but naive public servant who had been stunned into silence, or words to that effect. I admitted that if I were a stronger man…and so forth.
“Frankly, I think I laid it on a bit thick. When I watch the video, it comes across as too glib. I should have agonized a bit before answering. Oh well, it was a small error, and no one seems to have noticed.
“It is said by Trump supporters that I took a swing at the Great Man and whiffed. Not true: It ain’t over ’til it’s over, and I’m not the only batter. Bob Mueller is in place, both Sessions and Rosenstein have been neutered, my old colleagues at the FBI are more determined that ever, the press is at full bay, and even Congress is showing a little spine.
“The Good Book tells us that what they have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what they have whispered to someone in secret will be shouted from the rooftop. That’s what every good prosecutor believes. It’s just a matter of time.”