By Editorial Board
USA Today
Perhaps no public official emerged from the presidential campaign more battered than FBI Director James Comey. Republicans savaged him in the summer for declining to seek prosecution of Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information that passed through her private email server. Democrats were apoplectic when he brought the email inquiry back into the limelight just days before the election.
On Thursday, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook blamed her defeat in large part on Comey’s “total breach” of Justice Department protocol. “It’s mind-boggling why he did this.”
Should Comey, who is three years into a 10-year term, resign or be fired?
His critics should be careful what they wish for. Comey’s departure would open the door for President-elect Donald Trump to appoint the next FBI director, one who might not have Comey’s reputation for speaking truth to power. The phrase has become a cliché, but the people who actually have the guts to do it in Washington are rare, especially when the power they’re speaking to is the president of the United States.
Comey has displayed that sort of courage and independence in the past, and the FBI’s leader might well need such strengths during a Trump administration. The Trump family’s far-flung international business interests could present conflicts that come under the FBI’s purview. The director might also have to deal with Trump’s mistaken and dangerous belief that the president decides who gets investigated or prosecuted. Those jobs fall under the authority of the FBI and the Justice Department — not the White House.
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