James Comey

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James Comey

Nonpartisan

Prior offices:

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Years in office: 2013 - 2017

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Deputy Attorney General

Years in office: 2003 - 2005

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U.S. District Attorney

Years in office: 2001 - 2003

Education

High school

Northern Highlands Regional High School

Bachelor's

College of William and Mary

Law

University of Chicago Law School

Personal

Profession

Attorney

James Brien Comey Jr. was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was nominated by President Barack Obama (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 29, 2013, by a vote of 93-1.

On May 9, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) terminated Comey as FBI director. Trump wrote in a letter to Comey, “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau." At the time of his dismissal, Comey was investigating potential ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Before serving as FBI director, Comey was a professor of law at Columbia University, and he served as United States deputy attorney general under John Ashcroft in the George W. Bush (R) administration. After his time in the Bush administration, Comey also worked at Lockheed Martin and at Bridgewater Associates.

Biography

Comey was born in Yonkers, New York, and he attended Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey. He graduated from the College of William and Mary and earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Comey's academic, professional, and political career:

• 2013-2017: Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• 2010-2013: Senior Research Scholar and Hertog Fellow at Columbia University
• 2005-2010: General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Lockheed Martin
• 2003-2005: U.S. Deputy Attorney General under the George W. Bush administration
• 2001-2003: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
• 1996-2001: Managing Assistant for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
• 1993-1996: Partner at McGuireWoods, LLP
• 1987-1993: Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
• 1985-1987: Law Clerk for U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York
• 1985: Earned J.D. from University of Chicago Law School
• 1982: Graduated from College of William and Mary

Confirmation vote

On July 29, 2013, Comey was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 93-1. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only vote against Comey's confirmation, which made Comey the only FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover's death to receive a vote against confirmation.

James Comey confirmation vote, July 29, 2013
Party	Votes for a	Votes against d	Total votes
Democrats	49	0	49
Republicans	42	1	43
Independents	2	0	2
Total Votes	93	1	94

Paul threatened filibuster

Sen. Rand Paul threatened to filibuster Senate discussion on Comey's confirmation in order to pressure Robert Mueller, the previous FBI director, to release information about domestic drone inventory and usage. Paul led a filibuster over similar issues during confirmation hearings for CIA Director John Brennan in March 2013. While Paul did not filibuster, he placed a hold on the nomination of Comey until the FBI responded to his questions concerning the FBI's use of drones in the U.S. on July 29, 2013.

Noteworthy events

Criminal indictment in Virginia dismissed (2025)

On September 25, 2025, a 23-person federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Comey on one count of making a false statement to Congress and one count of obstructing a criminal proceeding. The grand jury declined to indict Comey on a third count, which was an additional count of making a false statement to Congress. Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was prosecuting the case, which was heard by Judge Michael Nachmanoff of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. On October 8, Comey pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. The judge scheduled the trial for January 5, 2026.

On November 24, 2025, Judge Cameron Currie of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina dismissed the case against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James and ruled that Halligan was illegally appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Appeals are possible.

The indictment alleged that Comey made false statements during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020 related to the FBI's 2016 probe into links between Russia and President Donald Trump's (R) 2016 presidential campaign. After the indictment, Trump said, "JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI. [...] He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation."

Comey responded to the indictment, saying, "My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent, so, let’s have a trial."

The indictment followed public calls from Trump for the Department of Justice to pursue legal action against Comey. In a post on Truth Social addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi on September 20, 2025, Trump said, in part, "What about Comey, Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done." Trump went on to say that, "We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" Trump also criticized former interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert, who had resigned earlier in the day on September 20. Trump said, "He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case. No, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so. Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot." Bondi subsequently appointed Halligan as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia on September 22.

Termination as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2017)

On May 9, 2017, President Donald Trump (R), on the recommendations of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, terminated Comey as FBI director for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's (D) private email server use.

Rosenstein wrote in a memo, "[Comey] was wrong to usurp the Attorney General's authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution. It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement. At most, the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings to federal prosecutors. ... Compounding the error, the Director ignored another longstanding principle: we do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation."

In a letter to Comey, which referenced a separate FBI investigation into possible ties between Trump associates and Russia, Trump wrote, "While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau."

Following his termination, Comey wrote a letter that said, "I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I'm not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won't either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply."

Investigation into mishandling of classified information by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2015-2016)

See also: Hillary Clinton email investigation

On July 23, 2015, two inspectors general (IGs) requested that the Department of Justice launch an investigation to determine whether classified emails were mishandled in connection with Hillary Clinton's private email server. The request was for an inquiry, rather than a criminal investigation, that was directed at "whether sensitive government information was mishandled in connection with the personal email account Hillary Rodham Clinton used as secretary of state" rather than at Clinton individually.

The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the Department of State, which lasted from July 10, 2015, to July 2, 2016.

Comey announced on July 5, 2016, that the agency found that "no charges [were] appropriate in this case." He said in a statement, "Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. ... In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. All the cases prosecuted involved some combination of: clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice. We do not see those things here."

See also

• Senate confirms James Comey as next FBI director
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Hillary Clinton email investigation

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Robert Mueller	FBI Director 2013 - 2017	Succeeded by Christopher Wray