what did comey do

James Comey is a former FBI director best known for his controversial role in the 2016 Clinton email investigation, his firing by President Donald Trump in 2017, and his later leak of memos documenting meetings with Trump.

Quick Scoop

Who James Comey Is

• James Comey served as Director of the FBI from 2013 until he was fired on May 9, 2017 by President Donald Trump.

• Before that, he was Deputy Attorney General and had a long career as a federal prosecutor and senior Justice Department official.

What He Did in the Clinton Email Case

• In July 2016, Comey held an unusual press conference announcing that the FBI would not recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server, but he strongly criticized her as “extremely careless.”

• In October 2016, just 11 days before the election, he sent a letter to Congress saying the FBI was reviewing new Clinton‑related emails, a move many critics say hurt her campaign; the case was again closed without charges shortly before Election Day.

• A 2018 Justice Department inspector general report called his handling of this case “insubordinate,” saying he deviated from procedures and usurped the Attorney General’s authority, though it did not find political bias in the decision to avoid charges.

Why He Was Fired

• In 2017, the official explanation for Comey’s firing was that he mishandled the Clinton email investigation, based on a memo from the Justice Department.

• Reporting and later testimony indicated Trump was also angry that Comey would not publicly clear him in the Russia interference probe, would not back up Trump’s false claim that Barack Obama had wiretapped him, and refused to pledge personal “loyalty” to the president.

• Comey later testified that Trump asked him to “let go” of the FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, which raised allegations that Trump may have tried to obstruct justice.

The Leaked Memos and Policy Violations

• After he was fired, Comey shared the contents of at least one memo he wrote about a private meeting with Trump with a friend, instructing him to pass it to a journalist, which helped trigger the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

• These memos were his contemporaneous notes of interactions with Trump, including the Flynn conversation, and became key evidence in public debates over possible obstruction.

• A 2019 report by the Justice Department’s inspector general concluded the memos were official FBI records and found that Comey violated FBI policies and his employment agreement by taking them home, keeping some in a personal safe, and sharing one with a friend and several with his private attorneys without authorization.

• The same review found that while he broke policy, prosecutors declined to charge him, in part because they did not find that he or his lawyers knowingly shared classified information with the press.

How People Talk About Him Now (Forum/“trending topic” angle)

• Comey has become a polarizing figure: many Democrats blame his October 2016 letter for damaging Clinton’s campaign, while many Republicans accuse him of being part of an anti‑Trump “deep state.”

• Online discussions and forums often focus on whether he is a by‑the‑book institutionalist who tried to protect the FBI’s integrity, or an ambitious operator whose “solo” decisions warped both the Clinton and Trump‑Russia sagas.

• Later inspector general reports criticized his judgment and rule‑breaking over the memos, but also undercut claims that the Russia probe itself was launched as a politically biased hit, finding no evidence of political bias in opening the investigation.

Mini timeline (for quick context)

1. 2013 – Comey becomes FBI Director under President Barack Obama.

2. July 2016 – Announces no charges in the Clinton email case but issues harsh public criticism.

3. October 2016 – Tells Congress the email probe is being revisited; later closes it again with no charges just before the election.

4. Early 2017 – Oversees parts of the Russia interference investigation; tensions rise with Trump over loyalty and public statements.

5. May 9, 2017 – Trump fires Comey as FBI Director.

6. June 2017 – Comey testifies in Congress about Trump’s requests on Flynn and his firing.

7. 2018–2019 – Inspector general reports criticize his Clinton‑email decisions and his handling and leaking of memos, finding policy violations but no criminal charges.

TL;DR: He ran the FBI during the Clinton email and early Trump‑Russia eras, made highly unusual public moves in the Clinton case, was fired by Trump, then leaked memos about his meetings with Trump, which watchdogs later said broke FBI rules but did not lead to prosecution.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.