Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Zakaria: Comey's Book Is About More Than Trump
Randy-Reed-Image
By Randy Reed, Operations Manager
Published 7 years ago on
April 23, 2018

Share

The best-selling memoir by fired FBI Director James Comey covers a lot of ground that has already been widely explored in the media.

But Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria, in his April 19 piece, points to an incident recounted in Comey’s book that illustrates the importance of our nation’s legal system in preserving America’s values.

“(I)n his discussion of the George W. Bush administration, Comey is far more revealing and highlights something crucial and hopeful about America: the role of lawyers and our legal culture,” Zakaria writes.

Post 9/11 Surveillance

The episode in question revolves around a secret surveillance program put in place by the White House after the 9/11 attacks. When the administration sought reauthorization in 2004, Justice Department attorneys determined the program was not legal.

Comey was deputy attorney general at the time and was also acting in place of Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was hospitalized. Comey declined to approve the renewal of the program, prompting White House officials to attempt to circumvent his authority. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales headed to the hospital to press a bedridden Ashcroft to sign the reauthorization documents.

Book cover of James Comey's "A Higher Loyalty"

The Comey bestseller illustrates the importance of our nation’s legal system in preserving America’s values, writes Fareed Zakaria.

Zakaria describes what happened next.

“On learning of this, Comey raced to the hospital and asked then-FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to join him for moral support. It turned out Ashcroft didn’t need any prodding; he turned Card and Gonzales away. Mueller, who arrived a few minutes afterward, said to the bedridden attorney general, who was technically his boss, ‘In every man’s life there comes a time when the good Lord tests him. You passed your test tonight.’ Comey writes that he felt like crying: ‘The law had held.'”

Rule of Law Over Politics

Another example Zakaria cites from Comey’s memoir is the Justice Department’s pushback against the Bush administration’s use of “enhanced interrogation” against 9/11 suspects.

In these and other cases, Zakaria says the willingness of civic-minded and highly trained lawyers within the government to put the rule of law above politics or personal loyalty is something Americans should be deeply grateful for.

“The story is really not just about Mueller and Comey,” Zakaria writes, “but about the lawyers in various parts of the government who believe that it is crucial for the country that the government operate within the law — even if the president wishes otherwise.”

DON'T MISS

From Stories to Work Shirts, How Jim Harbaugh Has Turned Around the Chargers

DON'T MISS

Tulare Police Arrest Canadian Suspect in $130,000 Elder Scam

DON'T MISS

Hall of Famer Kurt Warner’s QB Son Commits to Fresno State

DON'T MISS

Meathead Movers Fill Trucks with Donations for LA Fire Victims. Fresno Can Help

DON'T MISS

Hendrick Motorsports Believes Its Next NASCAR Superstar Is From Clovis

DON'T MISS

Spider Monkey Found in Madera DUI Stop Has a Name: Meet Azules

DON'T MISS

Newsom: Insurance Companies Can’t Cancel or Not Renew Policies of LA Fire Victims

DON'T MISS

Notre Dame Gets Late Pick and Field Goal to Edge Penn State

DON'T MISS

NFL Moves Vikings-Rams Playoff Game to Arizona Due to Wildfires

DON'T MISS

Hamas Hostage Survivor Will Speak in Fresno on Saturday

UP NEXT

Promises to Cut CA’s High Living Costs Clash With Progressive Policies

UP NEXT

If CA Wants to Lead on AI, It Can’t Let 3 Companies Hog the Infrastructure

UP NEXT

Jimmy Carter Will Be Honored in Washington, a City Where He Remained an Outsider

UP NEXT

Even MAGA Needs Immigrants, It Seems

UP NEXT

The Jan. 6 Rioters, 4 Years Later

UP NEXT

Absent Reforms, Progressive Governance May Disappear Across the Globe

UP NEXT

Major US Winter Blast Shuts Down Schools and Government Offices in Several States

UP NEXT

Why 2025 Will Be a Pivotal Year for Mayor Karen Bass and LA

UP NEXT

From Georgia to Washington, Memorials Trace Jimmy Carter’s Life

UP NEXT

A Troubling Ruling by a Tulare County Judge on Abortion

Meathead Movers Fill Trucks with Donations for LA Fire Victims. Fresno Can Help

13 hours ago

Hendrick Motorsports Believes Its Next NASCAR Superstar Is From Clovis

13 hours ago

Spider Monkey Found in Madera DUI Stop Has a Name: Meet Azules

14 hours ago

Newsom: Insurance Companies Can’t Cancel or Not Renew Policies of LA Fire Victims

14 hours ago

Notre Dame Gets Late Pick and Field Goal to Edge Penn State

14 hours ago

NFL Moves Vikings-Rams Playoff Game to Arizona Due to Wildfires

14 hours ago

Hamas Hostage Survivor Will Speak in Fresno on Saturday

15 hours ago

Why Was FUSD Interim Superintendent’s Seat Moved at Board Meetings?

16 hours ago

LA Fires Underscore How Much CA Has to Lose if Trump Withholds Disaster Aid

16 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Stabbing at Motel 6 on Blackstone

17 hours ago

From Stories to Work Shirts, How Jim Harbaugh Has Turned Around the Chargers

EL SEGUNDO — Jim Harbaugh’s football philosophy is rooted in being physical on both sides of the ball and wearing down an opponent. Ho...

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

From Stories to Work Shirts, How Jim Harbaugh Has Turned Around the Chargers

11 hours ago

Tulare Police Arrest Canadian Suspect in $130,000 Elder Scam

12 hours ago

Hall of Famer Kurt Warner’s QB Son Commits to Fresno State

13 hours ago

Meathead Movers Fill Trucks with Donations for LA Fire Victims. Fresno Can Help

Corey Day Signs Contract With Hendrick Motorsports
13 hours ago

Hendrick Motorsports Believes Its Next NASCAR Superstar Is From Clovis

The Oakland Zoo's rescue of Azules, a young spider monkey, highlights the dangers of wildlife trafficking and illegal primate ownership. (Oakland Zoo)
14 hours ago

Spider Monkey Found in Madera DUI Stop Has a Name: Meet Azules

14 hours ago

Newsom: Insurance Companies Can’t Cancel or Not Renew Policies of LA Fire Victims

14 hours ago

Notre Dame Gets Late Pick and Field Goal to Edge Penn State

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend