Summary
In A Higher Loyalty, former FBI Director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry point into the inner workings of the FBI and the Department of Justice, and sheds light on the kind of leadership our country needs now. Comey served as director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, appointed to the post by President Barack Obama. He previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. deputy attorney general in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Comey's career in law enforcement began after a chilling encounter with a criminal known as the Ramsey Rapist. The experience, he says, instilled in him a lifelong hatred for bullies and sympathy for their victims. As an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan, he learned how the Mafia operates under a code of lies and loyalty oaths, and was surprised to find how often those same rules and standards are applied outside La Cosa Nostra. He also began working under a man who was already becoming legendary: Rudy Giuliani.
His early career also included an important lesson in leadership from an unlikely source: a grocery store manager named Harry Howell. Later, after the death of his infant son, Comey would learn another important lesson in leadership from his wife, Patrice. As she channeled her grief into a nationwide campaign to change the standard of care for Group B strep, a bacterial infection that often kills newborns, Comey was inspired by her determination to make something good come from unspeakable tragedy. Her quest—to try to make things right for others—has undoubtedly influenced his views on the purpose of the law and the justice system.
After 9/11, Comey found himself in the middle of an administration's secret, and unlawful, surveillance program. He recounts the dramatic race to the hospital bed of an ailing Attorney General John Ashcroft to prevent the program's unlawful renewal. Comey also shares details of how he defied President Trump and his attempts to cultivate a personal loyalty pledge.
Throughout his career, Comey has found himself standing in the middle of the road, between the political and the apolitical. He shares details of his role in the Martha Stewart insider-trading case, why he thought it was so important to pursue charges against her when the stakes were so low, and how that case changed his approach to leadership.
The book also explores Comey's decision to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails just days before the 2016 presidential election. He discusses the searing question posed to him by one of his team members: Should you consider that what you're about to do may help elect Donald Trump?
Comey reveals some dark and difficult truths about leadership and decision-making, drawing on lessons from his long and challenging career. A Higher Loyalty is not just a story of what it's like to serve and lead in some of the highest positions in American government, but it's also a warning about the values our leaders must protect. The book is a reflection of how principled leadership makes America possible, and how much our leaders need to do better. It's a book about how good people make hard choices. And it’s a book, fundamentally, about truth, lies, and leadership.