358 James Comey Still Won’t Apologize but He did Write a Pretty Good Book Final Draft
Section One: If You Can’t Say Something Nice…
Someone’s grandmother once said, “If you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all.” Fortunately, I don’t subscribe to that particular school of grandmotherly diplomacy. This book, as you’ve likely noticed, is not exactly a shrine to James Comey. But in the spirit of fairness—or perhaps irony—I’ve found a few nice things to say about him. And in this chapter, I’ll say them. Though it gives me no pleasure.
Section Two: The Wife Guy
Let’s start here: James Comey is undeniably a wife guy. And honestly? That’s kind of admirable.
In a recent interview on The Bulwark podcast, Comey did what he always does—name-dropped his wife, praised her brilliance, and reminded us all how deeply he respects her. When host Tim Miller asked if he needed a therapist to cope with the barrage of public criticism, Comey responded:
“I was watching and listening when that man said that hurtful thing about me. And I thought, you know, you bastard. My family, at least on the surface, seems to like me a lot. My dog died a few years ago, but was very fond of me. I’m married to a trained marriage and family therapist, thank God. So I have in-house help.” — Bulwark Podcast, Aug 2025, ~33:53
His wife, Patrice Failor, is indeed a trained therapist. And Comey never tires of telling us how much he’s learned from her. In interviews, articles, and even his fiction, she’s a recurring presence—his emotional anchor and editorial partner.
“I learned from watching her.” — People Magazine, 2023
James Comey Married: Inside His Family Life With Wife, Kids
Though unfortunately, the one time he chose not to learn from her was when she urged him not to send the infamous Comey Letter. He ignored her advice—just as he allegedly ignored a junior DOJ staffer who raised similar concerns. See: Chapter: Why Did Comey Write the Comey Letter?
(33) James Comey’s Wife Reveals She Was ‘Devastated’ By Trump’s Election Win – YouTube
So yes, he’s a wife guy. And yes, that’s touching. I myself have no wife—but I’ve long considered myself a male-female supremacist: someone who believes women often carry the moral clarity and emotional intelligence that society desperately lacks.
Coda: True story-how much do you want to know?
How to Suck Up To Women | YOUTUBE EDIT | Female Supremacy University
Section Three: The Patriarchy’s Favorite Ally
Comey’s public persona has always struck me as deeply patriarchal. Not just because he helped elect Trump, enabling the Right’s wet dream of overturning Roe v. Wade. Not just because he ran the FBI—a historically Republican institution steeped in patriarchal norms. But because he locked up Martha Stewart for little more than the vibe that she was an uppity liberal woman.
So yes, I’ll say something nice: Comey respects his wife. But let’s not confuse that with systemic allyship. Wearing an “Elect More Women” T-shirt doesn’t absolve you of enabling the rollback of women’s rights.
Section Four: Comey the Author
Here’s another nice thing: Comey can write. His latest novel, FDR Drive, is actually quite good. It’s the third in his Nora Carleton series—a legal thriller set in New York City, tackling domestic extremism and moral ambiguity. The pacing is tight, the characters are well-drawn, and the themes are surprisingly layered.
Even better? His wife helped shape the book. Not just with editing, but with character development and emotional scaffolding. In interviews, Comey admits that keeping track of fictional continuity was a challenge—and that Patrice helped him stay grounded.
“Writing fiction was hard. Trying to remember what the protagonist said yesterday? That was a challenge. Thank God for my wife.” — Bulwark Podcast, ~43:20
So yes, he wrote a good book. And yes, his wife helped. Here I am saying some nice things about Comey .
Coda: The Resistance Canon’s Footnote
So in this chapter, I’ve said a few nice things. he did write a pretty good book. And he loves his wife. Nevertheless he still won’t apologize. Not for the letter. Not for the election. Not for the consequences.
#Resistance Anthem, Part II: The Wife Guy, the Daughter Guy, and the Irony That Won’t Die
Section: AI? No Thanks—I Married a Therapist
During a recent Bulwark interview, Tim Miller asked James Comey how he keeps track of his plot arcs and character voices. Does he use a whiteboard? An app? AI?
“Have you incorporated AI?”
Comey didn’t bite. Instead, he redirected—again—to his wife.
“No, it’s about choosing the right life partner. My spouse keeps all that online. We start by talking about what might be a cool story, then I write a five-to-ten page summary. She follows along on a Google Doc. She’s smarter than I am—and she’s read way more fiction.” — Bulwark Podcast, ~44:15
It’s a touching answer. Comey is, again, undeniably, a wife guy. And that’s a nice thing. He freely admits she’s smarter than him. He credits her with shaping the emotional scaffolding of his novels. She’s his editor, his sounding board, his reader-in-chief.
“She says, ‘I’m every reader.’ She’ll tell me, ‘You’re drifting. Your characters are starting to sound alike. This is repetitive.’ I get that loving feedback in little bubbles on a Google Doc.” — Bulwark Podcast, Location 426
And yet, the natural question remains: If she’s smarter than he is, why didn’t he listen to her when she urged him not to send the Comey Letter? That moment—arguably the most consequential of his career—was the one time he chose not to learn from her.
Section: The Daughter Guy
Comey isn’t just a wife guy—he’s a daughter guy, too. He sought input from his children while writing FDR Drive, three of whom are daughters. His protagonist, Nora Carleton, is based on his oldest daughter, Maurene Comey—a federal prosecutor who, at the time, was leading the case against Sean “Diddy” Combs. She had previously prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein.
“My protagonist is inspired by my oldest daughter and really a combination of all five kids. I can close my eyes and picture it—and that keeps me online.” — Bulwark Podcast, ~46:03
That’s another genuinely nice thing about James Comey. No snark. He’s a father who admires his daughters, who listens to them, who builds characters around their voices. That’s rare. That’s real.
He also based other characters on people he loved. Benny Dugan, the investigator in the novel, was modeled after a close friend who died of melanoma in 2006.
“He was the best investigator I ever knew. A 6’5″, 250-pound Brooklyn-accented guy with brush-cut hair. He used to call me Mr. Smooth.”
The result? A novel that works. FDR Drive is vivid, layered, and emotionally resonant. I listened to the audiobook while driving for Spark Delivery, and it felt like watching a crime drama—Law & Order, only better. Mileage may vary, but for me, that show was always just okay. This book? It came alive.
Section: The Irony That Won’t Die
And yet, the irony is suffocating. Comey, the wife guy, the daughter guy, the “Elect More Women” T-shirt guy—played a central role in defeating what would have been the first female President in U.S. history. He helped elect Trump, who then helped overturn Roe v. Wade, reducing women to reproductive instruments.
Let’s not forget Martha Stewart—locked up by Comey for little more than the vibe that she was an uppity liberal woman. As noted in Chapter X, even Ken Starr had to admit that “arrogant while female” isn’t an indictable offense.
“We tried,” said a Clinton spokesperson, “and you f—ed it up.” —
Section: Maurene Comey and the Epstein Fallout
Maurene Comey, the daughter behind Nora Carleton, was fired from the Justice Department in July 2025. She had prosecuted Epstein, Combs, and Maxwell. Her termination came shortly after her father’s Bulwark interview—raising questions about political retaliation.
“Fear is the tool of a tyrant,” she wrote in her farewell note. “Let this moment fuel the fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power.” —
Trump’s DOJ offered no clear reason. But insiders noted that being a Comey was “untenable” in this administration. The timing was unmistakable. The symbolism? Brutal.
Section: The Cataclysmic Choice
Comey once described his decision to announce the “maybe-maybe not reopening” of the Clinton email investigation as merely “very bad.” Not “cataclysmic.” Not “career-defining.” Just… unfortunate.
But it was cataclysmic. It changed the course of history. And it violated DOJ protocols. And it ignored the advice of the one person he claims is smarter than he is.
So yes, James Comey is a wife guy. A daughter guy. A pretty good novelist. And in this chapter, I’ve said several nice things about him.
But he still won’t apologize.
#Resistance Anthem, Part III: The Biggest Mistake in the History of Mistakes
Here I can’t resist quoting Schoenberg again—because he nails it. The Comey Letter wasn’t just a misstep. It was, as Schoenberg writes, “the biggest mistake in the history of mistakes.” And we’re still living in its aftermath, every single day, here in Trump 2.0: The Absolute Immunity Edition.
Just yesterday, this was the headline:
FBI raids former national security adviser John Bolton’s home
Yes, that John Bolton. The hawk. The memoirist. The man Trump once called “one of the dumbest people in government.” Now being investigated for allegedly mishandling classified documents. And Trump? He’s trying to charge Comey too—based on newly declassified memos showing that Comey authorized leaks to the New York Times.
But let’s be clear: the leak in question—the infamous “FBI Sees No Clear Link to Russia” story—helped Trump, not hurt him. It falsely suggested there was no “there there” in the Russia investigation. So if Comey leaked, it was at the convenience of Trump’s campaign, not in opposition to it.
Trump looks through the telescope upside down—and still sees a conspiracy.
Schoenberg’s Razor
Schoenberg asks the right question:
“What could [Comey] possibly mean by ‘might have been even worse’? Worse than what actually transpired? Worse than his firing by President Trump? What exactly is he imagining that would be worse?” —
Exactly the right question-what is it? Worse than his own daughter who he based his main character-Nora Carleton-on being fired from SDNY? Let’s be clear: Comey doesn’t write that latter his daughter doesn’t get fired as Trump would likely never become President and therefore wouldn’t have been there to fire her because her last name is Comey.
Worse than the fact that Trump is not only going after John Bolton but quite possibly now Comey himself in yet another politically motivated boondoggle? Adding insult to injury as only Trump can he’s trying to charge Bolton with-stealing classified documents. With Comey he’s looking at prosecuting him for the admittedly fairly damning new information that Comey DID leak to the NY Times.
The Daughter Fallout
Let’s not forget: Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey—the real-life inspiration for Nora Carleton—was fired from SDNY in July 2025. She had prosecuted Epstein, Maxwell, and Diddy. And she was dismissed not for misconduct, but for being a Comey. In this administration, that surname is radioactive.
If Comey doesn’t write the letter, Trump doesn’t become President. If Trump doesn’t become President, Maurene doesn’t get fired. So what, exactly, would have been worse?
The Leak That Helped Trump
Comey testified in 2017 that he never leaked classified info to the media. But newly declassified memos show that he authorized his aides to leak to the New York Times in 2016. The story they planted? One that falsely claimed the FBI saw “no clear link” between Trump and Russia.
So even Comey’s leak was convenient to the Republican Party. And now Trump wants to prosecute him for it.
CODA: No Honor Among Thieves
Comey appears congenitally incapable of doing anything that isn’t convenient to the GOP. And yet, Trump and his co-conspirators have made him Public Enemy #1. It’s proof of concept for the old saying:
“No honor among thieves.”
Or perhaps more aptly: “No gratitude for the man who helped elect their guy.”
But again what Comey leaked didn’t hurt Trump but quite the opposite
This is further buttressed by. the fact that while Trump’s DOJ released the fact that Comey. had spoken to the Times they. held back WHAT he has said to the Times which tells you what he did in fact say wasn’t helpful to the narrative that Comey. had Baker leak to hurt Trump.
#Resistance Anthem, Part IV: Karma’s a Woman and Justice Is a Bitch
Section: Another Nice Thing About James Comey
To be clear, I never promised I was done saying things about James Comey that aren’t nice-quite the opposite as you can plainly. But here’s another: he’s a Swiftie. And that’s kind of cool. Also kind of rich.
In a recent , Comey revealed that Taylor Swift has been the soundtrack of his family’s life. He’s attended multiple concerts, joined a family Swiftie group chat, and listens to her music while mowing the lawn. His favorites? All Too Well (10-Minute Version) and Exile featuring Bon Iver.
“Taylor Swift and I go way back,” he said. “I went to my first concert of hers 15 years ago. I’ve been to a second, and I have helped financially support the attendance of a lot of family members and others.”
He called Swift “a truly inspirational public figure” and praised her appearance on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. He even cited her advice to treat personal energy “like a luxury item”—a coping mechanism for dealing with bullies.
And I agree: standing up to bullies is essential. Especially in the Trump Era. If only Comey had done the same in 2016—rather than paying the ransom. Again and again.
Section: The Ransom Years
Let’s not forget:
- July 2016: Comey holds a reckless press conference based on a fake Russian document.
- October 2016: He sends the Comey Letter, backed into it by rogue agents.
- Post-election: He apologizes over Carter Page, despite no clear wrongdoing.
As documented by Emptywheel, the Page FISA warrant was no more flawed than most others. But Comey paid the ransom. Repeatedly. And where has it got him?
Section: The Swiftie Backlash
Comey’s Swiftie confession didn’t land well with the MAGA right. Dinesh D’Souza called it “bizarre,” accusing Comey of trying to rebrand himself as a normal guy—a Taylor Swift fan, a champion of civility.
“I’d love to see this sociopath locked up,” D’Souza tweeted.
That’s what Comey gets. After years of serving the GOP’s interests—locking up Martha Stewart, dragging Hillary Clinton through a 15-month investigation, and breaking DOJ protocols—he’s now their scapegoat. No honor among thieves. And even less gratitude.
Section: CODA—Did He Do the Crime?
Let’s be clear: Comey did leak. Newly declassified memos show he authorized his aides to share classified info with the New York Times. The story they planted? The infamous “FBI Sees No Clear Link to Russia”—a headline that helped Trump, not hurt him.
So the idea that Comey leaked to entrap Trump doesn’t pass the laugh test. Whatever his motivations, the leak served Trump’s narrative. And now Trump wants to prosecute him for it. Another politically motivated boondoggle.
But again—whose fault is this?
Section: Karma’s a Woman and Justice Is a Bitch
In some deeper karmic sense, it’s almost poetic. Comey is now threatened with prosecution over politically contrived charges—just as he once used politically contrived charges to imprison Martha Stewart and derail Hillary Clinton.
Live by the politically contrived charges, die by the politically contrived charges.
Section: But Again—Whose Fault Is This?
Comey opened his video by saying:
“Donald Trump is still president and still humiliating America on a national stage … It’s like a dream, a bad dream you can’t wake up from.”
And yes—that’s how tens of millions of us feel. But coming from the guy who elected him? It lands differently.
Comey has spent nearly nine years insisting he made the right choice. That if he had it to do over again, he’d do the same thing.
So when he talks about bullies, civility, and Taylor Swift? If only he walked the walk and stood up to bullies or listened to his wife when it really. mattered or did stand up to bullies the way. Taylor Swift does.. As it it these words hardly make up for all the terrible things that have happened to this country. the last nine years-including to Comey himself and his daughter.
#Resistance Anthem, Part V: The Comey Conundrum
Section: Oops, He Did It Again
In his Bulwark interview, James Comey opened with a familiar refrain—false equivalence. The old “both sides do it” card. The rhetorical sleight-of-hand that helped usher in the nightmare we still can’t wake up from.
“When someone yells at me on the street, I have to pause and say, ‘Is that a Clintonian f you or a Trumpian?’” — Bulwark Podcast, 0:00
Get it? We’re all just “trapped in our own bubbles.” Clintonian, Trumpian—two sides of the same irrational coin. Never mind that one side is fueled by grievance and conspiracy, and the other by the memory of a stolen election. Comey goes on to analyze the Trumpian rage in detail—and he’s right. But when it comes to Clintonian anger? He doesn’t even hazard a guess as to why. they very. may well hate him so much.
No mention of the fact that he derailed Clinton’s campaign over baseless, politically contrived charges. No acknowledgment that he still refuses to admit how badly he messed up. Because to admit that would be to open the door to the full scope of his Emailgate misconduct—and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.
After all we know of one leak to the Times. That much we now know for attested fact. But do we really believe that was the only time?
Section: The Bill Buckner of American Politics
On some level you suspect Comey knows the Clintonian rage is justified. That he’s the Bill Buckner of American politics—the man who let the ball roll through his legs and cost the country more than a game but our very. democracy.. And he’s done everything since to seek absolution—except the one thing that matters: admit the truth.
In 2018, he endorsed Democrat Jennifer Wexton—his first public support for a Democrat in his adult life. Previously. note he had donated to both of Obama’s opponents. He wore the “Elect More Women” T-shirt. And when Hillary Clinton clapped back on Twitter, he called it “pretty funny”—while ducking the substance of her critique.
“I regret only being involved in the 2016 election,” he said. — Face the Nation, August 2020
But he didn’t have to be involved. In fact, DOJ regulations said he shouldn’t have been.
Section: The Comey Conundrum
Every chance he gets, Comey extolls the women in his life—his wife, his daughters, his fictional protagonist Nora Carleton. His household, he says, is “dominated by intelligent, strong, tall women”. And yet, when his wife urged him not to send the Comey Letter, he dismissed her advice.
He’s done everything he can to ingratiate himself to Blue State America—becoming a Swiftie, quoting lyrics, praising Gavin Newsom. But he still won’t admit that the choice he made in October 2016 was, is, and remains cataclysmic.
Section: Comey.’s StrikinglyWoke FBI vs. Trumpland
In FDR Drive, the FBI is strikingly woke—dominated by women, including Black women and a transwoman. Nora Carleton, based on his daughter, leads the charge against domestic extremism.
But is that really the FBI Comey led?
The FBI of Louis Freeh. Of James Kallstrom. Of rogue agents leaking to defeat Clinton. The FBI agents that threatened to give Huma Abedin’s emails to Wikileaks—until Comey caved and did The Letter. The FBI that remains, structurally and culturally, a bastion of White, male, Catholic Republicans.
CODA: Redemption Without Repentance
Comey wants redemption. He wants forgiveness. But as a Catholic, he should know: there is no redemption without repentance.
He can quote Taylor Swift. He can praise his daughters. He can write woke thrillers and wear feminist T-shirts. But until he admits the truth—that his decision was unforgivable—we’re still living in the wreckage.
And so is he.
#Resistance Anthem, Part VI: The Cataclysmic Consequences of Moral Vanity
There’s a moment in FDR Drive—a book I genuinely enjoyed—where Nora Carleton, Comey’s fictional protagonist, wrestles with a moral conundrum. She considers dropping a key witness because he’s a bad guy. Not unreliable. Not dishonest. Just morally compromised.
It’s a psychodrama that unfolds over several chapters-between 12 and 16. And while it’s compelling fiction, I wonder if it’s a kind of stealth apologia for But Her Emails. The same logic Trump used to discredit Michael Cohen—“he’s a bad guy, so his testimony doesn’t count.” But in reality, refusing to use compromised witnesses is a gift to criminals. You don’t take down John Gotti with a choir boy.
This fictional dilemma feels like Comey’s attempt to retroactively justify his real-world decision to send the Comey Letter—an act that violated DOJ protocol and arguably changed the course of history. In the book, Nora’s restraint is framed as noble. In reality, Comey’s restraint was selective, self-serving, and catastrophic.
So Comey’s heavy weather over this dilemma feels like a down-low justification for his own unforgivable Letter. The idea that seems to be that there’s allegedly virtue in hurting your own case to showcase your moral austerity. But in Emailgate, he didn’t follow the law or protocol. He violated both—for his own Kantian moral pretensions.
Section: Empathy Misplaced
A YouTube commenter put it well:
“I can empathize with James Comey, but the results of what happened based on his decisions are frightening.”
I half agree. The results are frightening. But I don’t feel any empathy for Comey. None. My empathy lies with people like Ryan Hamilton, whose wife nearly died under Texas’s abortion ban—a law made possible because Comey elected Trump.
“Texas tried to kill my wife,” Hamilton said.
She was forced to carry a deaf fetus, endangering her life, while doctors hesitated, fearing prosecution. Does Comey want to tell Hamilton that what happened was “merely very bad” but not “cataclysmic”? Because to Comey, cataclysmic meant Clinton winning and Trey Gowdy yelling at him in Congress.
Tell that to Ryan Hamilton. I’m sure he’d understand.
Section: The Daughter Paradox
Comey adores his daughter. He built his protagonist around her. But millions of women like her—young, brilliant, in their childbearing years—now face the threat of forced pregnancy, criminalized miscarriage, and state surveillance. Because Comey built that.
There’s the woman in Georgia, Adriana Smith, declared brain-dead and kept alive for months so her fetus could be delivered—against her family’s wishes. That’s not just Texas. That’s Georgia. That’s 30% of the country.
Trump says he supports exceptions. But in reality, none of the red states that banned abortion post-Dobbs include meaningful exceptions. The regime isn’t sustainable. It’s already collapsing into cruelty.
Section: The Global Fallout
And it’s not just abortion. There’s Mohammad Halimi, an Afghan scholar who helped U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. After Trump’s DOGE department falsely outed him as a Taliban sympathizer, his family was targeted. He fled the country. His life was shattered. This, to be sure, was after he already had to flee Afghanistan after Trump broke the promises the US government made for 20 years to justify our invasion and occupation at DOHA and negotiated ONLY with the Taliban-sort of like he’s now negotiating directly with Putin while sidelining Ukraine.
There are the victims of RFK Jr.’s anti-vax regime. The casualties of Trump’s tariff war. The immigrants detained by ICE without cause. The sick and elderly who will suffer under Trump’s Medicaid and Medicare cuts.
And yes, even John Bolton and James Comey—now targets of Trump’s weaponized DOJ. The man Comey helped elect now claims the right to prosecute him. No honor among thieves. No gratitude for the man who did so much to elect their guy.
CODA: Very Careless. Cataclysmic.
Comey’s favorite neologisms—“very careless,” “not cataclysmic”—have aged like milk. Because what we’re living through now is cataclysmic. And it’s not just political. It’s personal. It’s global. It’s structural.
He did this. He built that. And the consequences keep coming in. And coming in. And coming in.