James Comey’s book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, offers many insights beyond what you may have heard in the news. With over one million copies in print, the sales success of the book is assured; but, there is something far more important at stake – that would be the conversation that the author wants us to have about our leaders.
A good friend of mine likes to say, “elections matter.” I agree. And, what James Comey offers is a singularly unique perspective on leadership in Washington, D.C. as experienced by a non-politician (if that is possible in Washington).
Elections are about sending leaders to office. The type of leadership we want and need certainly may be thought about differently by people; however, we are bound together by certain values in this country – at least I still believe we are – and, A Higher Loyalty presses us to examine the values we expect in our leaders.
The media flurry around the book would have you believe that this is an insider’s account of what it was like dealing with President Trump. There is some of this, but a reader is over two-thirds of the way through the book before the Trump Administration becomes much of a focus.
What the news stories have not shared is that James Comey’s book is one of the most reflective pieces of work I have read by a former high-level official. There is little effort made to defend decisions. There is a good deal of time spent helping the reader understand what was known at the time really difficult decisions were made and what the options appeared to be for Comey and others.
There are acknowledgments that other people might have chosen different courses. As Comey describes it, he hopes that by putting the reader in his shoes with the choices that he faced he can help people better understand the decisions that were made.
Also rare in this kind of book is sufficient introspection to acknowledge in a few places that one might have done something differently.
So, this is a different kind of book by a former high-level official.
It is also the case that James Comey, through training and experience, is a remarkably good observer of all things around him, especially people. The pictures he provides of situations put the reader in the room. And, the descriptions of people – at least those that I know – seem right on the money, even when he is describing someone he is meeting for the first time.
Perhaps his keenest instinct relates to gauging just how people listen. In one of the best remarks in the book, he suggests listening in Washington, D.C. usually means someone sits quietly until they can break into a conversation in order to say exactly what they intended to say without regard to the exchange just witnessed. This is so true!
Comey reminds us in the book how much our past can shape our outlook. Comey was bullied as a youngster. As a young prosecutor, he went after deadly organized crime figures. Who knew this would be such useful preparation for dealing with a White House?
While I found the entire book fascinating, the sections focused on how the FBI approached the questions around Hillary Clinton’s emails were in some ways the most intriguing.
Clearly, the FBI and its director found themselves in uncharted territory with the Clinton email investigation. Also, the timing of events was certainly not of their choosing. Understanding how the decisions around the email investigation – its opening, closing, reopening and reclosing just prior to the election – reads a bit like a thriller.
Personally, I have always thought that this sad development of having to investigate the use of private email and in having the Attorney General and the Justice Department sitting to one side, thus placing far more of the spotlight on the FBI, was the result of two actions. Turns out, there were three.
First, the email system should never have been allowed to exist. The decision to set it up and those who enabled it to be used created a situation that would have serious consequences. Second, the misguided decision by former President Clinton to walk onto the Attorney General’s aircraft for a chat, forcing an able political appointee serving as Attorney General to step aside from the decision making on the investigation, was a fundamental mistake with serious consequences. Finally, not turning over a computer owned by an aide to Secretary Clinton that contained thousands of emails, including emails from early in her tenure that were said not to exist, was a calamitous miscalculation.
As with tragic aircraft accidents, there is almost never just one cause, and investigators usually find that if only one of a few factors had occurred differently, the accident might have been avoided.
I would argue that if anyone of the three items above had not happened, there never would have been an investigation opened or reopened during the election year.
Having had nothing to do with the initial actions to set up a flawed email system and nothing to do with the timing surrounding the investigation, it is hard to place all the blame on the FBI for actions that might have impacted an election. What becomes clear is that in the end there were no good alternatives around the public comments made by Comey concerning the investigation.
So, this is the kind of consideration – whether you agree or disagree – that James Comey wants us to participate in during these months before an election.
And, I believe, if he moves just a small percentage of people to search for more ethical leaders, he will have made an important difference.
The book is worth reading as a means of thinking about the kind of leadership we respect and we want from those we send into public office.
Craig Fuller served four years in the White House as assistant to President Reagan for Cabinet Affairs, followed by four years as chief of staff to Vice President George H.W. Bush. Having been engaged in five presidential campaigns and run public affairs firms and associations in Washington, D.C., he now resides on the Eastern Shore with his wife Karen.
Kristen Greenaway says
I appreciate this review, Craig–thank you.
Howard Freedlander says
Your review focuses rightly on James Comey’s obsession with
leadership and ethics—sometimes viewed in short supply in our nation’s Capitol.
Carl Widell says
Craig Fuller offers a thoughtful, incisive account of Comey’s book that takes us beyond the press reports. He makes a good case for reading the book and coming to our own conclusions.
Rob Ketcham says
Thanks for sharing your thoughtful balanced commentary. Generally speaking, I’m not inclined to read “those” tell all books. But you’ve got my attention that this one is in its own catagory, and highly relevant to present political events.
Barbara Denton says
The lack of ethics do not lie with Donald Trump. The lack of ethics lie with James Comey, Hillary Clinton, Barach Obama, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, James Clapper, James Brennan, Valerie Jarratt and every other participant in the Obama administration. They have conducted a scorched earth campaign to remove Trump. They are not winning.