WSJ Editorial Board: James Comey Thought The Rules Didn't Apply To Him

Matt Vespa | August 30, 2019 11:20 PM

By now, you know that former FBI Director James Comey was taken to the woodshed by the Department of Justice Inspector General for violating FBI department policy concerning his release of personal memos about his meetings with President Trump. These memos were given to a friend of Comey’s who then leaked them to The New York Times. This was done to get the things rolling for a special counsel appointment, which happened; Robert Mueller headed a two-year investigation that revealed zero evidence to prove there was a Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy. Katie has more:

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released an 83-page long report Thursday morning about misconduct by fired FBI Director James Comey. It thoroughly berates Comey for leaking memos about conversations with President Trump for personal and political gain. Most importantly, the report concludes Comey improperly released FBI material in order to launch the Special Counsel investigation into the 2016 presidential election. This report is separate from the highly anticipated IG report about the origins of the Russia investigation and FISA abuse.
Comey admitted during sworn congressional testimony in 2017 that he purposely leaked the confidential memos to a friend, who then gave them to the New York Times.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board nailed the results of the IG report. Comey thought the rules didn’t apply to him. Also, it showed that Trump was right to fire him in May of 2017:

By not safeguarding sensitive information” and “by using it to create public pressure for official action,” Mr. Comey “set a dangerous example” for every FBI employee, the IG says. Mr. Comey admitted that he violated the rules to cause the appointment of a special counsel after Mr. Trump fired him in May 2017.
“Comey said he was compelled to take these actions ‘if I love this country . . . and I love the Department of Justice, and I love the FBI,’” the report says. But the IG concludes that if everyone violated the rules “to achieve a personally desired outcome” as Mr. Comey did, “the FBI would be unable to dispatch its law enforcement duties properly.”
Translated from the bureaucratic prose: Mr. Comey thought he was above the rules because he wanted to save the country from Mr. Trump. No doubt J. Edgar Hoover felt a similar afflatus as he wiretapped Martin Luther King.
[…]
These violations may not be crimes, and the Justice Department declined to prosecute after referral by the IG. But they are unacceptable in someone who had Mr. Comey’s authority and has made his career assailing others for lesser offenses. They show again why Mr. Trump was right to fire him.