Do Democrats have a right to be mad about James Comey's ouster?

Many on the left hated the FBI director. But that doesn't mean they wanted him fired.

James Comey on Capitol Hill
(Image credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Many Democrats blame former FBI Director James Comey for throwing the election to President Trump, thanks to his ham-handed interference right before Election Day and his earlier public comments about Hillary Clinton's "extremely careless" use of a private email server while secretary of state.

Comey's not the only one they blame — Clinton has acknowledged her own mistakes, Bill Clinton messed things up by meeting with the attorney general for a short chat on an airplane, Anthony Weiner was a constant irritant and the proximate cause of Comey's October Surprise, and of course, Russia played at least some role in harming Clinton's chances through information warfare. But the fact that Comey ignored longstanding Justice Department rules to comment on the politically sensitive Clinton investigation during a presidential election, and that he kept mum about a similarly sensitive investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, makes Comey's meddling particularly galling.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.