James Comey was on a mission in 2004.
A deputy attorney general at the time, Comey rushed to the bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to notify him that the White House was trying to reauthorize a warrantless eavesdropping program, the Buffalo News reports.
Comey, who is now the director of the FBI, advised his boss not to sign anything.
“I’ve long been a big fan of the rule of law,” Comey said during a visit to Buffalo on Tuesday. “To me, the intelligence programs that are the most firmly rooted in all three branches of our government are the best.”
What’s he think of the controversial NSA program?
“Folks can disagree with the policy and reasonable people do disagree as to whether the federal government should have such a database,” he told reporters. “What can’t be said is that this is some type of rogue, lawless conduct. This was our government operating as it was designed.”
