Former FBI Director James Comey Writes Book About Career, Relationship with Trump

Former FBI Director James Comey has been meeting with publishers to pitch a book he is writing about his public service career, that will include a section about his relationship with President Trump while he served as FBI director.

The New York Times reports that major publishing companies have been courting Comey in New York City over the past few days as the book is set to go to auction this week.

Comey’s upcoming book is not being billed as a conventional “tell-all memoir,” but rather a book about the “guiding principles” that shaped Comey’s legal career.

“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 Matt Latimer, a partner at Javelin, the literary agency that is representing Comey. “It will speak to a broader desire in our country for more ethical leadership.”

Comey’s book is expected to generate a several million-dollar advance, with one New York publisher reportedly offering $10 million for a book deal.

His agent told the NYT that Comey was “reluctant” to write a standard memoir at first. However, he noted that Comey decided he would go through with writing a book if it could focus more on the lessons he learned about “ethics, decision-making, and leadership” in his public service career, which spanned multiple administrations, instead of the typical ups-and-downs of his career.

Comey’s literary agents predict that the part of the book which explains Comey’s relationship with Trump before he was fired is expected to generate the most interest.

The NYT reports that the book will have to be vetted by the government to ensure nothing classified gets published, but his agents expect that the book will contain unreleased information about Comey’s conversations with Trump.

Trump hammered Comey over his decision to leak memos of his conversations with the president to the media, alleging that he “illegally” leaked memos containing classified information.