FBI Director Faces Awkward Future

In the last few months, decisions made by FBI director James Comey have set the stage for an awkward relationship with the next presidential administration, regardless of next week’s election results. Republican nominee Donald Trump and many in the GOP spoke out against Comey in July, when he issued a recommendation against prosecuting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while Secretary of State. Now, Clinton and her camp have gone on the offensive over Comey’s decision to publicly announce, just days before the election, the FBI’s plan to review newly-discovered emails that may or may not have gone through that private server. Comey, who served as deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush, was appointed to a 10-year term in 2013, so he will have many years of work under the new administration. Former Assistant FBI Director Ron Hosko said it was likely to be a “very, very difficult relationship,” but Comey can compartmentalize to keep doing his job. “Could Jim Comey go over to the White House and brief on terrorism intelligence or a terrorism strike, and what the bureau is doing about it or has done about it, and keep that in a separate box? Yes.”