Supreme Loyalty - Comey's Rules

Where law ends, tyranny begins.

In governance there are people who do the work, and there are showboats.

Politicians are awful.

Money is nice, stopping bad guys is better.

If you're not happy, leave. There's plenty of people that want your job.

You can't run this place if you mind being resented.

If you've been doing this for ten years, and a president asks you to stay on for another two, say no.

I expect you to work hard because you owe that to the taxpayer. I expect you to exercise good judgment. Being here means you have the power to do good, or, if you abuse that power, great harm. I expect you to find joy in your work. You are part of an organization devoted to doing good, protecting the weak, rescuing the taken, and catching criminals. That is work with moral content. Doing it should be a source of great joy. And I expect you to protect this institution's reservoir of trust and credibility, which makes possible all of our work. I expect you to fight for balance in your lives. You are all driven by our mission, and you are used to absorbing stress. That means you need more time with your loved ones, not less. So I order you to love someone, It's the right thing to do. It's also good for you.Crime in any form makes people feel powerless. Let's fix that.

Did she mishandle classified information by using her personal e-mail system while serving as Secretary of State ? We're looking for “corrupt purpose.” Did Secretary Clinton knowingly break the law either by using a personal e-mail server to handle classified information while serving at State, or by directing the deletion of e-mails from that server ?

Whatever this investigation yields, history will look at what we do here through a microscope, so our work needs to be letter-perfect. No leaks, everything buttoned down. We cannot cut corners, cannot screw this up in any way.

Trump? He's an idiot. But he's a man. And male voters are gender-loyal in a way that women aren't.

The Trump supporters see Trump as political chemo. He may be toxic, he may kill every healthy cell in the bloodstream, but he is the only cure for the cancer that is Washington.

Everyone's got an opinion, and the right to voice it.

I'd ask you to assess three things: the accuracy of the facts laid out in the draft, any policy or other limitations around making such a statement, and the wisdom and mechanics of presenting it to the American people.

Conventional wisdom might mitigate against it. But this is not a conventional circumstance. What I'm thinking is grand juries are secret for a reason. We don't comment on the propriety of a subject's conduct, especially during an election year. If the country ever starts to distrust the Bureau's intentions, it's a bell that can never be unrung.

And you remember that next time somebody tells you this country can't be its best self. Or the law doesn't matter. That jury did right anyway.

What if we announce and then don't find anything? What if we don't announce and then find criminal intent?

Down that road lies the death of the FBI as an independent force in American life. If I ever start considering whose political fortunes might be affected by a decision even for a second, we're done. I know you believe in telling the truth. But there are all kinds of truths out there. That's intelligence but it's a truth. Concealing one truth and publicly announcing another is selective honesty. I told Congress and the country that this case was closed. If that's revealed to be a lie, how would they ever believe us again?

I think norms and policies matter. And I think Direct Comey believes that his own ethics are now worth more than the norms that have always steered us.

You came here to do good. You've all made sacrifices to keep that promise. You stay up late working on a summation to explain why a drug dealer or child pornographer is guilty. You chase materials to organize court exhibits that some yo-yo from the Bureau mislabeled. And you shrug pleasantly when people speak of the “awesome resources of the federal government,” as you eye the fancy supplies at a law firm and think about swiping some stuff to take back to your office. Despite obstacles, you do the work. You protect people. That's noble. What makes that work possible is a reservoir of trust and credibility, a reservoir that was built for us and filled for us by those who went before us in this work, many of whom we never knew. Our obligation is to protect that reservoir, to keep it full or make it fuller,for those who will follow us into public service. The problem with reservoirs is that it's hard to fill them and one tiny hole can drain them. And that's what happens if our vigilance fails, if, even for a second, we ever put anything- -politics, partisanship-- above the primacy of truth and justice. I love the Bureau. I love its mission. That guides me every day, in everything I do. And if it leads me to make mistakes, I know they'll be honest ones.I know they'll be honest ones.I know they'll be honest ones.

The boss gets absolute power, absolute loyalty, and no one outside the inner circle counts. My soul should burn if I ever betray Cosa Nostra. Ours is an apolitical culture.

The country needs to know that the FBI is completely divorced from politics.

You ever start to feel shaky, go outside and look at the buildings up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. They've been there a long time. And they're gonna be here a long time. Because what they represent is eternal-- institutions, the rule of law, no matter who is in power.

Law alone can give us freedom.

The job is about protecting people. Every decision comes back to that. Everything the entire department does will run through this office, so you need to be at your best. You need to eat well, exercise, get enough sleep. You need to be with your family to recharge yourself. That goes for all of your staff as well. Try to get out of the office by 6, 6:30 every night, because no one will leave before you do, and you want them spending time with their loved ones.

Workaholics make soulless choices.

Leaders like that throw you back to first principles, you just have to keep remembering what they are.

Every one of you is personally responsible for protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution of the United States. The FBI's values ​​are bigger than any single person, so it's the same mission no matter who's running it.

Because they've always been here. Doesn't matter who the president is, which party is in power. The institutions, the rule of law. Nothing ever knocks them down.