In a stunning twist, it seems the tables have turned on former FBI Director James Comey, who now finds himself smack dab in the middle of a political storm of his own making. Like a boomerang returning with a mind of its own, Comey’s previous actions and words are coming back to haunt him. This unraveling saga has all the makings of an epic political drama—filled with irony, secret emails, and a twist of fate that would leave anyone scratching their head.
First up in this unfolding drama is the rich irony of Comey’s own email habits. As the man who led the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, it turns out he was up to similar tricks. Comey was apparently using his own personal email account to carry on FBI business, including discussions on managing the media. There’s a morsel of irony you can’t ignore as the guardian of government transparency slips down the same rabbit hole he once sought to expose.
Then there’s a peek into Comey’s crystal ball, where he expected to be serving President Hillary Clinton after her widely anticipated victory in 2016. Comey, ever the preparer, planned on winning applause for his handling of the Clinton investigation—or so he thought. His dreams of nodding approval from President Clinton fizzled like a backyard sparkler, as Donald Trump’s unexpected win left the former FBI director with a severe case of electoral miscalculation.
Moreover, Comey’s tangled web seems to be spun even further. Emails have surfaced showing he was in communication with Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor, who was at one point an advisor to Comey. Despite his previous testimony denying such conduct, documents reveal Comey said “No need. At this point it would be shouting into the wind” to Richman’s offer to write an opinion article for The New York Times. This is the stuff that great political scandals are made of, as the denials pile up and the evidence stacks even higher against him.
Finally, there’s the cloak-and-dagger air surrounding the attempt to stash these explosive documents in a skiff, metaphorically securing them in a burn bag. If someone intended to make these papers vanish into thin air, there could be serious obstruction issues at hand. The twists and turns in this saga reveal one undeniable truth: in politics, just when you think you’ve thrown the perfect boomerang, it might just return to you with a powerful whack.
