Comey Should Feel Like an Idiot for What He Has Done
- john raymond
- May 16
- 3 min read
There’s a cruel irony unfolding in American politics, and its name is James Comey.
Once the FBI Director who upended the 2016 election with a reckless, norm-shattering letter that reopened scrutiny into Hillary Clinton’s emails just days before voters went to the polls, Comey now finds himself under siege by the very forces he helped to empower.
The MAGA machine—driven by revenge, obsessed with loyalty, and allergic to the rule of law—is coming for him. And no amount of moral posturing or “deep concern for institutions” can erase the catastrophic role he played in bringing us to this point.
Comey should feel like an idiot. Not just because of his grossly inappropriate actions in 2016, but because he fooled himself into thinking that his above-it-all posture would protect him from the storm he helped unleash. He believed that by wounding Clinton publicly while keeping quiet about the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s Russian connections, he could walk the tightrope of institutional neutrality. Instead, he tore a hole in the republic’s safety net—and now he's dangling from it.
Let’s be clear: what Comey did was a betrayal of Department of Justice norms. He announced the results of an investigation in July 2016, casting public judgment on Clinton even as he recommended no charges—something he had no business doing. Then, on October 28th, he sent an explosive letter to Congress announcing the discovery of new emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop.
He did this without a warrant, without reviewing the material, and in defiance of long-standing DOJ policies meant to prevent law enforcement from influencing elections. Days later, he declared there was nothing new. But the damage had been done. Hillary Clinton's polling collapsed in the final days of the campaign, and Donald Trump squeaked out an Electoral College victory despite losing the popular vote by millions.
For years, Comey tried to justify his actions with vague moral rationalizations: that he had to act, that the public had a right to know, that his hand was forced. But those arguments were always hollow. He broke protocol to serve his own reputation, to cast himself as the noble protector of the institution. And in doing so, he undermined the very democracy he claimed to safeguard.
Now, in 2025, as Trump surrounds himself with loyalists eager to settle scores, Comey is finding out what happens when you give power to an authoritarian. Reports have surfaced of secret service agents and federal officials targeting Trump enemies—Comey among them—with renewed investigations and dubious security threats. It's not just political theater; it’s a warning shot across the bow of anyone who dares to cross Trump. This is the machinery of authoritarian retribution, and Comey is square in its sights.
This moment isn’t just about Comey. It’s a mirror for every institutionalist who thinks they can play referee in a fight for the soul of the nation. He had the chance to stop a demagogue and chose instead to damage the candidate best positioned to defeat him. He thought his integrity would shield him from the consequences of helping install a man who respects no law, no truth, and no precedent. Now he’s learning, the hard way, that the rule of law he bent has snapped back—and it’s wrapped around his neck.
James Comey should feel like an idiot. Because he trusted neither process nor principle. Because he believed norms would hold while he quietly undermined them. Because he helped light the match, and now stands aghast as the fire climbs up his own sleeve.
And because he, more than most, should have known better.
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