James Comey on Lies, Law and Leadership

A Higher Loyalty is James Comey's account of his controversial tenure as FBI Director during the US 2016 presidential election. He reflects on his career, emphasizing the value of truth, the rule of law, public duty, and ethical leadership.

James Comey worked on high-profile mafia cases early in his career and learned that in the mafia world, truth comes second to the instructions of the boss, and lies are disguised as oaths of loyalty to the organization.

He uses many of his experiences to show the value of truth, such as how Martha Stewart could have avoided jail time by simply confessing that she received an insider trading tip and returned her $50k. However the lie cost her jail time.

In 2015, the FBI investigated Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official matters and concluded that she mishandled classified information, but there was no wilful obstruction. Comey led the investigation and faced political pressure for it.

Comey previously resisted legalizing NSA's domestic surveillance and CIA's use of torture when he served as Deputy Attorney General in George W Bush's White House, and he admitted that it is difficult to separate legal judgment from politics.

Donald Trump asked for personal loyalty from FBI director James Comey, and repeatedly asked him to intervene in the investigation into Russian attempts to influence the US election. Comey refused, and was subsequently fired by Trump.

Trump's actions blurred the line between law and politics, and he tried to draw Comey into his personal interests rather than the nation's interest as head of the FBI, which ultimately led to his firing.

Ethical leadership is about developing people with integrity and decency, who are confident enough to be humble, and who are both kind and tough. It involves building a culture of truth, openness, and honesty, where subordinates can speak out against wrongdoing.

Comey's most dire warning to the world is that any organization - whether the mafia or the White House - if it centers around blind hierarchy and no one can speak out about wrongdoing, it will foster dangerous lies and corruption.

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