“I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No, I am the one who knocks!”
Walter White made this infamous disclosure to his wife of his take-no-prisoner true identity in AMC’s “Breaking Bad.”
Breaking Bad was must-see TV. Its spinoff, “Better Call Saul,” has been this season’s must-see TV.
That was until last Thursday, when former FBI Director Jim Comey’s testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee drew nearly 20 million viewers.
Must see Comey.
It’s clear Comey loves the spotlight. And this was his opportunity to let his former boss, President Trump, and the millions watching know his true identity. Not a “showboat” or “grandstander,” as the president claimed shortly after unceremoniously firing him. Rather, he’s the epitome of a no-nonsense, modern-day Elliot Ness afraid of nothing and nobody. The one who gets people fired, not the other way around.
The one who knocks?
“Lordy” does it seem even his most ardent supporters must admit Comey missed his mark.
Let’s count just some of the ways:
1. He admitted his handling of the closed-door meeting with Trump about former national security adviser Michael Flynn was subpar, stating he was “stunned” and “maybe if I did it again, I’d do it better.”
2. He admitted conceding to pressure from former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to not classify the inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails as an “investigation” but rather as the benign term “matter,” a campaign-friendly talking point.
3. He admitted to essentially waking up in a panic at 3 a.m. after seeing a tweet—yes, a tweet—from the president about tapes involving their discussions. It was this frightening 140-character-or-fewer verbal punch that left him no choice but to leak notes he prepared, on FBI equipment, about his private meetings with the president to a friend and professor at Columbia University for the purpose of it finding its way into the New York Times.
The latter makes the former top cop and esteemed lawyer Comey now subject to potential liability for violating regulations pertaining to the disclosure of FBI-related materials and age-old bar ethical rules against the unauthorized release of client-related documents.
James Comey, an acclaimed University of Chicago law school graduate, former Deputy Attorney General, the man who successfully prosecuted Martha Stewart.
How did he end up here?
Less than a year ago, as the Clinton “matter” was the pink elephant in the 2016 election, leaders from both parties heralded Comey as “a pro’s pro.” He was the proverbial adult in the room, a straight arrow.
Then it appears Comey’s inner lawyer surfaced. Comey harnessed all of the word-crafting, position-hedging, and backside-watching characteristics that have made us barristers (yes, while proud to “lawyer differently,” this author holds active bar cards in Florida and California) the profession Americans despise the most.
In the last 11 months, Comey has become the world’s greatest legal acrobat:
1. He found Hillary Clinton was “extremely careless” with her handling of classified information but hedged from a push toward indictment, with the caveat that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against her due to lack of precedent.
2. He publicly re-opened the Clinton “matter” less than two weeks before Election Day, based on the need to review new materials found on disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s computer. Remarkably, the review of this material was completed in time for Election Day, with Comey again able to publicly claim there was nothing new here worthy of prosecution. Good news if a President Clinton took over as his boss.
3. He publicly shook Trump’s hand shortly after inauguration, and then apparently went out of his way to hide his 6-foot-8-inch frame behind White House drapes that were similar to his suit color to avoid interactions.
4. He also kept a “dear diary” file not shared with anyone, especially those he reported to, until after he was fired, when he opened his vault to the New York Times’s readership through the carefully-orchestrated conduit of a law professor.
Clearly not the Atticus Finch, Perry Mason, or even Ally McBeal type fictional lawyer that inspired so many to the practice. No, the mud fight of Trump v. Clinton pushed Comey much closer to embodying Walter White’s consigliere Saul Goodman. Saul, ironically, an alias for “Jimmy” McGill.
The way Walter and his cohort Jesse’s antics dragged Jimmy, “Saul,” out of his televised lawyer prominence and eventually into a life running a Nebraska Cinnabon, you have to wonder what a post-Comey world looks like.
Let’s hope it’s a quiet life out of the spotlight.
Unfortunately, as Saul said, “Some people are immune to good advice.”
Fall 2017, get ready for “Better Call Comey”?
Bryan Rotella (@RotellaLegal) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is CEO of Rotella Legal Group (RLG) serving as general counsel and healthcare policy advisor to businesses, provider groups and political campaigns nationwide.
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