FBI Director James Comey says he doesn't care 'whose ox will be gored' in political investigations

FBI Director James Comey doesn&#039;t take &quot;sides,&quot; he says

(Image credit: AP/YouTube)

published 30 March 2017

The past year "has been both difficult and easier than you might think," FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance dinner in Washington, D.C. "What makes it easy is we're not on anybody's side, ever. We're not considering whose ox will be gored by this action or that action, whose fortunes will be helped by this or that — we just don't care, and we can't care." The "painful part," he added, "is that we confuse people, and the reason we confuse people is most people see the world differently than we do, especially in a hyperpartisan environment. Most people are wearing glasses that filter the world according to side."

Comey sincerely seemed to believe that he was being completely apolitical when he said the FBI had found new evidence about Hillary Clinton a week before the election, then said two days before voting that it turned out to be nothing, or when he publicly confirmed last week that the bureau is investigating possible electoral collusion between President Trump's campaign and Russian intelligence.

"Now, we're not fools — I know that when I make a hard decision, a storm's going to follow," he said. "But honestly, I don't care. If I have thought about it carefully and am doing the right thing, making the right judgment, it doesn't matter what's going to follow." That politics-free vacuum makes his job easier, Comey said, but it's also necessary. "If we ever start to think about who will be affected in what way by our decisions in a political sense, we're done." You can watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.