Comey dishes on his time with Trump

Former FBI Director James Comey talks about his views on leadership, the current political climate, his tenure at the FBI and his current plans Monday at the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

STORRS — The embattled former FBI director embroiled in controversy within President Donald Trump’s administration told his story to a crowd at the University of Connecticut Monday.

He discussed issues related to his firing last year, effective leadership and the Hillary Clinton email controversy that dominated the 2016 elections, among others.

James Comey was welcomed as the keynote speaker for this year’s Edmund Fusco Contemporary Issues Forum held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

Comey received approximately $100,000 for the speech as part of the annual lecture series, which is privately funded by the Fusco family in New Haven.

As a general topic, Comey touched on the need for good leadership.

“As I read not just about our government, but about what’s going on in the entertainment industry, and in sports, and in so many other parts of our lives, there’s so much bad leadership,” Comey said.

Comey has worked with three sitting U.S. presidents and led the FBI from 2013-17, until his untimely firing by Trump in the midst of investigations into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election.

“His tenure was tested by new and dangerous forces here and abroad, (including overseeing) federal response to mass shootings, (including) San Bernardino in December 2015 and the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June 2016,” said UConn President Susan Herbst, who introduced Comey and served as a moderator for part of the program.

Comey said he wanted to use his voice to paint a picture of what “ethical leadership,” rather than just leadership, should look like.

“There’s so much lying and there’s so much inappropriate behavior that I worry that young people, especially, are going to say ‘screw it, it’s so icky I’m not going to be a part of trying to be a leader, I’m going to step back.’”

Comey said he distinguishes leadership from management, which he defines as simply an arithmetic exercise incorporating schedules, measurements, deadlines and metrics.

“A leader is someone who knows how to manage, (which is) vital, but there’s something else,” Comey said, “which is an ability to connect people to meaning and purpose in their world.”

Comey has been vocal in his criticisms of Trump following his firing, comparing him to that of a mob boss in his book “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.” 

He even used a metaphor to refer to Trump as a “forest fire.”

While forest fires inflict pain and damage, he said, there is growth in their wake.

“I already see the growth around this country,” Comey said. “I see it in young people leaning forward like never before. I see it in women leaning forward for public office like never before. The values that unite us are so strong and people are reacting by staring at those values.”

Herbst joined the stage to address Comey with questions regarding the Clinton email controversy, working for Trump, the Mueller investigation and whether Comey would run for public office — to which he replied he will not.

As for the “email nightmare,” as Comey put it, he acknowledges his communication in July 2016 should have been better.

At a press conference that month, he announced the conclusion of the FBI’s investigation, stating they would not prosecute Clinton, but said she was “extremely careless.”

Then, on Oct. 28, 2016, days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Comey notified Congress of the reopening of the investigation as a result of newly discovered emails, which many critics cite as a possibly contributing to Clinton’s loss.

When asked if he would have done anything different in the situation, he stated he would not have.

“In each circumstance, we never had a good option,” Comey said. “We had a bad option and a worse option. I only saw two doors, and my general counsel said both doors lead to hell.”

Comey currently teaches at his alma mater, the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and said he looks forward to writing a second book in collaboration with his wife, about kids, parents and non-traditional families.

Originally published in The Chronicle on October 16, 2018.