In big news out of Washington, President Trump relieved FBI Director James Comey from duty. Over the past year, Comey has been the central figure in highly politicized scandals and has demonstrated exactly what is wrong with the FBI. Agree with his conclusions or not, he put the FBI, the premier law enforcement agency in the world, in a terrible and vulnerable position.
Having been the head of several criminal investigation units, be it nowhere near the level of Comey, I would have never announced the aspects of the investigation as he did on the grand stage. Comey’s public statements regarding these investigations compromised the trust of the American people in our security apparatus, and naturally the FBI. Comey’s repeated announcements put the FBI in an explicitly political light, something that should never be the case with a federal agency. The FBI is seen worldwide as what a law enforcement agency should be, or at least it was.
Comey, in my opinion, tarnished that reputation.
The testimonies, the letters he sent to Congress, the public announcement as what prosecutors would and would not do, was unconscionable.
Political fallout from the move will no doubt follow. Those opposed to Trump will most certainly claim this act was done in order to perform damage control and protect Trump.
However, I see it much differently. Comey has a long and respected background and should be applauded for his service, but in this instance, he strayed far away from the task of truth gathering, law enforcement, and in fact got so deep in the political venue there was no way to survive.
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Jon Harris is a Senior OpsLens Contributor and former Army NCO, Sergeant Morales Club member, civilian law enforcement officer, and defense contractor with over 30 years in the law enforcement community.
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