Former FBI Director James Comey is writing a book about his career in public service, including his dramatic and short tenure in the Trump administration, and all major publishing houses have expressed interest, his literary agent said.
Comey has been meeting with editors and publishers in New York in recent days and is being represented by literary agency Javelin partners Keith Urbahn and Matt Latimer, the New York Times reports. It will not be a "tell-all memoir," the report says, but it will delve into his role in the Hillary Clinton email investigation and his conversations with President Donald Trump regarding the Russian election interference probe:
"It’s a book about leadership and his search for truth, informed by lessons and experiences he’s had throughout his career, including his recent experiences in the Trump administration," said Mr. Latimer, whose agency also represents Tucker Carlson and Donna Brazile. "It will speak to a broader desire in our country for more ethical leadership."
Mr. Comey has been unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight in recent months. When he was fired, Mr. Comey was four years into a 10-year term. He didn’t go quietly. Instead, he leaked the contents of memos he had kept that documented his conversations with Mr. Trump, including, according to Mr. Comey, a conversation in which the president urged him to drop the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn.
Almost immediately after his firing, agents and publishers pounced, setting off speculation that Mr. Comey was contemplating writing a book. News outlets ran articles positing that Mr. Comey could land an eight-figure advance for a memoir.
Comey was initially reluctant to write a book, according to the report, but he decided that he "had something to say beyond a rehashing of his career highlights and low points, according to his agent." His goal is to draw lessons about ethics and leadership from his service in government, which included clashes with the Bush administration over domestic surveillance.
Trump fired Comey on May 9, setting off a chain of events that ultimately led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to take over the Russia investigation. Comey testified that he leaked a memo of one of his private conversations with Trump with that goal in mind.