The publisher of former FBI Director James Comey’s forthcoming book is taking extreme measures to ensure the details of the memoir remain secret until it hits shelves, according to a report.
Flatiron Books has implemented an electronic system to allow editors and agents access to drafts only if they have a password, Politico reported. The memoir is also kept under a code name, making it more difficult for staffers not working on the project to find it.
Sources told Politico employees at warehouses Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty,” will be shipped from are facing requests to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Books typically are shipped from warehouses to stores roughly two weeks before the official publication date, but in the case of Comey’s book, the shipping date is expected to be bumped up to closer to April 18, the date of publication.
Comey’s book is likely to generate significant attention, as it provides details on his interactions with President Trump, as well as his experiences working for the Bush and Obama administrations.
In his memoir, Comey “shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career over the past two decades of American government.” According to Politico, the book is expected to include more details from Comey about his White House dinner with Trump, where the president asked the then-FBI director to pledge his loyalty, as well as his meeting with Trump at Trump Tower in January 2017 where he discussed the details of the controversial dossier.
The memoir was supposed to be published May 1, but Flatiron Books moved up the publication date due to “intense scrutiny” of the FBI.
Comey has remained relatively quiet since he was fired by Trump in May 2017, though he did testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in June about his interactions with Trump as part of the committee’s probe on Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
He has offered commentary on the FBI and the investigations into Russian meddling on Twitter, and teased an audio version of “A Higher Loyalty.”
Lordy, this time there will be a tape. Audio book almost finished. pic.twitter.com/38LNOJdtw7
— James Comey (@Comey) February 27, 2018
But Comey will ramp up his public appearances in the days around the book’s release.
The former FBI director will sit down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on April 17, and “The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert and the co-hosts of “The View” on April 18.
