America Needs More James Comeys
As I watched James Comey harshly condemn Hillary Clinton for ten minutes on July 5th, I couldn’t help but feel excited for what I thought would be her indictment and forced withdrawal from the presidential election.
But that’s not what happened.
In the final part of his three-part speech, Comey gave his recommendation to the Department of Justice to not indict Clinton because “In looking back at our investigations into the mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. All the cases prosecuted involved some combination of clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information. We do not see these things here.”
While I do identify as Republican (first time voter) and frankly would love to see Hillary and Bill in a jail cell, I stand by Comey’s decision to not recommend pressing charges against Hillary Clinton on account of the creation and use of her private email server. To make this first time ruling against a presumptive party nominee with no direct evidence of intent would be ridiculous.
Immediately after hearing Comey’s recommendations to the DOJ, I google-searched Comey’s political party affiliation. I expected to find a life-long, loyal Democrat. Instead, I found that he has been a registered Republican for most of his adult life.
Think about how discouraging it is to know that an 18 year old, with his whole life ahead of him, already lives with a bitter distrust in his federal government. I simply am not used to seeing government officials making decisions based on law without a hidden political agenda attached to it. (Yeah, yeah, say what you want about Bill Clinton’s private meeting with Loretta Lynch a week before the ruling, and the Clintons’ endorsement of her job security two days before it, but I’m not going to play conspiracy theorist.) The main idea here is that it’s looking like a federal agent actually lived up to his job description. He honorably stood against his personal political bias and confidently stood by his team’s decision.
On Wednesday, House Republicans and Democrats brought Comey into a hearing to question how these conclusions were drawn. Long story short, the Republicans absolutely grilled his decision while the Democrats gave him recommendations that have zero correlation to Hillary Clinton’s emails. The poor guy just sat there and confidently endured the heat for hours. He answered all questions honestly, kept his cool, defended his stance respectfully, and through it all probably just wanted to go home and crack a beer.
Trump supporters, including myself, have been saying for over a year that America needs to do away with these Washington bureaucrats running this great nation into the ground. To much of America though, Donald Trump’s often questionable conduct doesn’t exactly make him an attractive example of an authentic and honorable government official. I do believe, though, that more Americans should pay attention to James Comey and what he embodies in his career, decisions, and conduct. This case did not go in the direction my fellow Republicans and I had wished for, but I encourage my fellow Americans to look for the characteristics Comey has shown over the course of this investigation in future elected officials.
In a time where America stands deeply divided, where our politicians disagree on virtually everything and are unwilling to compromise, it is comforting to know that men like James Comey still exist. This is a man not concerned with political interests but with granting rightful justice to all. I believe that my generation has the power to justly confront the issues being handed down to us, and we should look up to people like Comey for guidance in how we conduct law in the future.
