More than half of James Comey's private memos contained classified information
Most of the memos fired FBI Director James Comey created to document his interactions with President Trump before his ouster contained classified information, a revelation that casts in a new light his decision to leak those memos to the press via a friend.
Comey told Congress last month he considered the memos to be personal papers containing his "unclassified" "recollection recorded of my conversation with the president" which he distributed to the press as a "private citizen." During the same testimony, he agreed with a senator's characterization of the memos as something other than a "government document."
The FBI now says seven of the nine memos in fact are government documents. More than half have classified information, and four are marked with indicators they contain "secret" or "confidential" level classified data. The FBI does not permit the release of classified content without written permission.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Trump reacted to this news about Comey's memos on Twitter on Monday morning, retweeting a Fox & Friends clip on the subject and commenting, "James Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to the media. That is so illegal!"
Update, July 11: Comey's friend who helped leak elements of the memos takes issue with the suggestion that classified information was leaked, arguing, among other things, that several memos were retroactively marked classified.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Outer Hebrides: a top travel destination
The Week Recommends Discover 'unspoiled beauty' of the Western Isles
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
The Biltmore Mayfair review: a quintessential slice of luxury London
The Week Recommends This swanky retreat in Grosvenor Square blends old-world glamour with modern comforts
By Caroline Dolby Published
-
Is ChatGPT's new search engine OpenAI's Google 'killer'?
Talking Point There's a new AI-backed search engine in town. But can it stand up to Google's decades-long hold on internet searches?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published