James B. Comey

James B. Comey served as a Deputy Attorney General under Attorney General John Ashcroft. He left the U.S. Department of Justice in August 2005 to be Lockheed Martin's new general counsel.

• Legal Advisory Council, National Legal Center for the Public Interest

Bush Administration War on Terror Memos

ProPublica notes that "the Bush administration’s "war on terror" - including its controversial policies on detentions, interrogations and warrantless wiretapping - were all underpinned by legal memoranda. While some of those memos have been released ... the former administration chose to keep many others secret, citing security and confidentiality concerns. The decision to release them now lies with President Obama. To help inform the debate - and inject an extra dose of accountability - we’re posting a list of the relevant memos, both public and secret." [1]

Memo authors include John C. Yoo, Steven G. Bradbury, Jay Bybee, James B. Comey, Robert J. Delahunty, Jack Goldsmith, James Ho, Daniel Levin, Patrick Philbin, legal architects (and some internal critics) of the Bush Administration's use of torture and detention policies now being reversed or reviewed by the Obama Administration.

Treasongate

"In March 2004, John Ashcroft was in the hospital with a serious pancreatic condition. At Justice, Comey, Ashcroft's No. 2, was acting as attorney general. The grandson of an Irish cop and a former U.S. attorney from Manhattan, Comey, 45, is a straight arrow. (It was Comey who appointed his friend—the equally straitlaced and dogged Patrick Fitzgerald—to be the special prosecutor in the Valerie Plame leak-investigation case.)" [2]

Related SourceWatch Resources

• Alice S. Fisher
• Bush administration cronyism and incompetence
• Bush administration U.S. attorney firings controversy
• Bush administration's politicization of the Department of Justice
• David Margolis
• George W. Bush's domestic spying
• Robert Davis McCallum, Jr.
• Timothy E. Flanigan

External links

Profiles

• James Comey in the Wikipedia.

Timelines

• Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel), "A Question of Timing," The Next Hurrah, May 2, 2007.

Articles & Commentary

2006

• Daniel Klaidman, Stuart Taylor Jr. and Evan Thomas, "Palace Revolt. They were loyal conservatives, and Bush appointees. They fought a quiet battle to rein in the president's power in the war on terror. And they paid a price for it," Newsweek (MSNBC), February 6, 2006 (issue). See page 4.

2007

• David Kurtz, Talking Points Memo, March 4, 2007.
• Chitra Ragavan, "Behind the Scenes of the U.S. Attorney Firings," U.S. News & World Report, March 13, 2007.
• Paul Kiel, "Depends on What You Mean by 'Weak'," TPMmuckraker, March 14, 2007.
• Paul Kiel, "Former Justice Official to Appear before House Committee," TPMmuckraker, April 26, 2007.
• Christy Hardin Smith, "House Judiciary to Vote on Comey Subpoena Today," firedoglake Blog, May 1, 2007.
• Will Thomas, "House Committee Approves Subpoena for Comey," TPMmuckraker, May 1, 2007.
• looseheadprop, "Some pre-Comey legal reseach for you all," firedoglake Blog, May 2, 2007.
• Margie Burns, "Former Deputy Attorney General Comey Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee. Yet Another Former DoJ Official Revealed to Have Nothing to Do with the U.S. Attorney Firings. RELATED? The Murder of Seattle Prosecutor Thomas Wales Was Barely Discussed in DOJ, Comey Testimony Suggests," Brad Blog, May 3, 2007.
• Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel), firedoglake Blog, May 3, 2007:

• "James Comey HJC Testimony Liveblog": Part One and Part Two.
• "Where We’re at on the USA Attorney Scandal"

• Paul Kiel, TPMmuckraker, May 3, 2007:

• "Comey: Lam Was a 'Fine' U.S. Attorney"
• "Comey: Justice Dept. Must Be An 'Other' in American Life"
• "Comey Details U.S. Attorney Firings"
• "Comey to Fired USA: 'I Will Not Sit by'"

• Andrew Cohen, "McNulty & Comey: A Tale Of Two Prosectuors," Couric & Co. Blog/CBS News, May 15, 2007.
• Andrew Cohen, "Alberto Throws Paul Under Bus: Ditto James to Alberto," Bench Conference Blog/Washington Post, May 15, 2007.
• Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel), firedoglake, May 15, 2007: "Comey SJC Testimony, LiveBlog One; Two; and Three.
• Marty Lederman, "Comey Testifies that the President Broke the Law," Balkinization Blogspot, May 15, 2007. See transcript of testimony.
• Paul Kiel, "Comey Details White House Attempt to Force Approval of Secret Program," TPMmuckraker, May 15, 2007.
• Laurie Asseo, "Gonzales Pressured Ashcroft on Program, Comey Says (Update5)," Bloomberg News, May 15, 2007.
• Laurie Kellman, "Hospitalized Ashcroft pressured by White House in 2004 on wiretaps, Senate panel told," Associated Press (San Diego Union-Tribune), May 15, 2007.
• Jonathan S. Landay and Marisa Taylor, "Initial warrantless eavesdropping program deemed illegal by the Justice Department," McClatchy Newspapers, May 15, 2007.
• Mike Nizza, "'04 Wiretapping Talks at Hospital," The Lede Blog/New York Times, May 15, 2007.
• Editorial: "Mr. Comey's Tale. A standoff at a hospital bedside speaks volumes about Attorney General Gonzales," Washington Post, May 16, 2007.
• Jonathan S. Landay and Marisa Taylor, "Ex-official says program illegal," McClatchy Newspapers, May 16, 2007.
• Lara Jakes Jordan, "Gonzales says he followed deputy's advice on firings," Associated Press (Boston Globe), May 16, 2007.