James Comey broke his silence on Sunday evening and went off on President Trump after the Justice Department fired Maurene Comey.
Maurene Comey, daughter of James Comey, was fired as a federal prosecutor in the Manhattan US Attorney’s office last Wednesday.
“There was no specific reason given for her firing from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, according to one of the people who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters,” the AP reported.
Maurene Comey didn’t call out Trump by name, but she attacked the president and his administration in a message after being fired.
“Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought,” Maurene Comey wrote in a message to colleagues.
Comey posted a 5 minute video to his Substack page droning on and on about President Trump and the “hacks” at the Justice Department.
The former FBI Director then read aloud his daughter’s parting message to her colleagues after she was fired.
JAMES COMEY: “Hey, everybody. Welcome back to my Substack. This week, I want to offer some thoughts about justice. The Justice Department’s ability to protect the American people depends upon a gift that every employee gets when they join the Department. It’s a gift they may not know they’re receiving until the first time they stand up and identify themselves as a Justice employee and say something—whether that’s in a courtroom, at a conference, or at a cookout.”
“And they find that total strangers believe what they say next. They’re believed because, when they speak, they aren’t seen as Republicans or Democrats. Instead, they’re seen as something separate and apart in American life—a group of people just trying to do the right thing.”
“For years, I’ve described that gift as a reservoir of trust and credibility—a reservoir built for them and filled for them, one drop at a time, by people they never knew. People who made sacrifices before they joined the Department and kept promises. People who made mistakes, as we all do, and admitted them and fixed them. People who made hard calls without regard to position or privilege, who looked only for facts and applied those to the law.”
“The job of every Justice employee—their sworn obligation—is to protect that reservoir, to pass it to those who come after them, who may never know them.”
“The problem with reservoirs is that it takes tremendous time and effort to fill them. But one hole in the dam can drain the reservoir quickly. The protection of the reservoir requires complete commitment to truth, and a recognition that what one person does can ruin what benefits everybody.”
“I came up with that reservoir metaphor years ago when I was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Patrice and I and our kids lived far north of the city—still in my jurisdiction, but more affordable for a family of five kids. We lived with reservoirs all around—that’s where the city’s water supply was held.”
“My five kids played around those reservoirs. One of the dams was across the street. And one of those kids grew up to be a federal prosecutor in that same Southern District of New York. She became a star there, holding the powerful accountable.”
James Comey read his daughter’s message to colleagues.
Last week, she wrote a letter that I want to read:
“Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination. Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: without fear or favor.
“Do the right thing the right way, for the right reasons—without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful. For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, fear was never really conceivable. We don’t fear bad press. We have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe.
“And so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office. Our focus was really on acting without favor—that is, making sure people with access or money and power were not treated differently than anyone else, and making sure this office remains separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law.
“But we have entered a new phase where without fear may be the challenge. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.
“Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place—a fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power, of commitment to seek justice for victims, of dedication to truth above all else. It has been an honor to fight for those principles by your side.”
And she signed it: Maureen.
At the end of the video message, James Comey went off on Trump and the “hacks” at the Justice Department.
JAMES COMEY: “I don’t have much to add to that, except to say: the reservoir is in grave danger right now. Trump and the hacks who lead the Department of Justice are hammering at the dam day after day, trying to turn it into just another gold-leaf-covered Trump subsidiary.”
“Our best hope is that good people will stay and do what Maureen asked—have the courage to do the right thing, always. You may get fired for acting that way, but there’s honor in that—and nothing but disgrace for those who don’t stand up.”
“There are going to be hard weeks in the Trump era, and this was one for my family. But there are plenty of good people still in the Department committed to doing things the right way, committed to the rule of law.”
“For them—because of them—keep the faith.”
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