Fired FBI Director James Comey Signs Book Deal, Negotiations Topped $2M

Former FBI Director James Comey has signed a book deal for a sizable amount of money to discuss his short tenure under President Donald Trump before he was fired, according to a report.

Flatiron Books told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Comey is writing a book about “leadership and decision making,” due to be published in the spring.

But the book also promises to discuss serving four years under the Obama administration, including his investigation into the Hillary Clinton email scandal.

“Comey will write about experiences that made him the FBI’s best-known and most controversial FBI head in recent times, from his handling of the bureau’s probe into Hillary Clinton’s private email server to allegations of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign,” the report said.

Comey, represented by the Washington-based PR firm Javelin, had several publishers bid for his book, with figures topping $2 million, according to the report.

Trump fired Comey in May, in part for refusing to make it clear that Trump was not under investigation for collusion with Russia.

In Trump’s letter firing Comey, the president mentioned that Comey had told him three separate times he was not under investigation, which Comey later confirmed in Senate testimony in June.

Comey also later confirmed that he leaked memos accounting private conversations with the president to at least one friend to give to the media, in hopes of sparking an independent counsel on Russian interference in the election and any collusion with the Trump campaign.

He also testified that former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch had asked him to call the investigation into Hillary Clinton a “matter,” not an investigation, and that he complied. House Judiciary Republicans have passed legislation that would spark an investigation on Comey and Lynch.

Comey will cite “examples from some of the highest-stakes situations in the past two decades of American government” and “share yet-unheard anecdotes from his long and distinguished career,” the report said.

Flatiron Publisher and President Bob Miller said in a statement:

Throughout his career, James Comey has had to face one difficult decision after another as he has served the leaders of our country.

…

His book promises to take us inside those extraordinary moments in our history, showing us how these leaders have behaved under pressure. By doing so, Director Comey will give us unprecedented entry into the corridors of power, and a remarkable lesson in leadership itself.

Comey was appointed to as FBI director by former President Barack Obama in 2013.