After watching and reading the transcript of ABC News’ interview with former FBI director James Comey, several thoughts come to mind.

This Interview Will Change the Minds on No One

Whether you think that James Comey is the second coming of Joan of Arc or the reincarnation of the snake in the Garden of Eden, this interview is not going to move the needle one iota on one’s perceptions of James Comey.  Those who see him, as someone in a high place said, “a slime ball,” or whether you have deified him your mind and words, nothing changes.  We do know from a CNN interview with Jamie Gangel that current FBI people are none too happy with Comey, his book, and his hawking the book.  For an institution already under fire from all sides, many told Gangel that Comey “crossed the line of professionalism.”

In the end, if anything, Comey may have done more damage to his cause of taking down Trump since some comments, like the comparisons to the Mafia or his impressions of Trump’s “well-coiffed” hair, show a level of pettiness not seen in a discarded government bureaucrat in quite some time.   He came off sounding like a scorned lover feeding at the bottom of the barrel for insults.

Did He Mess Up?

Comey had a lot to say about an ongoing investigation.  For example, there are many who hold the position that Trump asking Comey to drop the investigation into Mike Flynn was obstruction of justice.  Maybe it was, or maybe it wasn’t and perhaps that is for Robert Mueller to decide.  We are constantly reminded that we need to let the Mueller investigation run its course and let the cards fall where they may.  Then along comes Comey to assert his view that it was obstruction.  In effect, Comey becomes a horrible witness for the prosecution.

Although I have not read his book (nor do I intend to enrich Comey by purchasing it), it is highly unusual for someone like him- this supposed pinnacle of virtue- writing about and commenting on an ongoing investigation.  Some have suggested that it may have violated certain FBI protocols in this area.  While it is understood that Comey is today a private citizen and is entitled to his opinion, the fact this opinion is coming from a person at the center of a controversy who happened to be the nation’s former leading law enforcement guy, is highly unusual…and suspect.

Did He Mess Up, Part 2?

During the interview, Comey went to great lengths to say that he was trying to stay above politics, that he was thinking about doing the right thing, that he was attempting to protect the integrity of the FBI.  He was not paying attention to the campaign all that much, yadadada.  For someone not paying attention to the campaign, he sure did form a lot of ideas and opinions about Trump before ever meeting the man.

The fact is that Comey was anything but apolitical.  He was working under the assumption that he would be working for Hillary Clinton after the election.  He admitted as much in his lame excuse over re-opening the e-mail investigation two weeks before the election.  It is also highly doubtful that he and his wife, a huge Hillary supporter, did not discuss politics or the election or their preferences.

Comey Is Positioning Himself

With the Russian collusion narrative falling apart by the day, the Resistance is running out of things to bitch about.  Comey’s “I don’t know…it’s possible…” response to a question about whether the Russians have dirt on Trump keeps those rumors alive.  If they do have dirt, Trump is not acting as if he has anything to fear given his actions against Russia and Putin’s inner circle.  Instead, Comey is positioning himself as the moral leader of the Resistance.  His book’s title says it all: “A Higher Loyalty.”

The book may be full of palace intrigue, but savior of the Republic, the American people, mom, baseball and apple pie?  Yeah…not so much.  Comey may fancy himself anything he wants in his mind, but a moral conscience is pressing it.  This is a man who deliberately gave notes to a friend knowing they would be leaked to the press in order to force the naming of a special counsel.  This is a man who knows the ins and outs of DC politics, despite his claims to being non-political, and who engaged in skullduggery best left to the spy novelists.

It’s All About the Money

Many times on these very pages, in diaries, front page stories and comments people are admonished to wait to see what the Mueller investigation reveals, that it should run its course.  James Comey’s thoughts on truth, morality and his impressions of Donald Trump and his rendition of events as he saw them could benefit from the same advice.

Why write and publish the book now?  Does he have early onset of dementia and feels the need to get the thoughts on paper now?  Remember: this is the same FBI Director who writes memos to himself and keeps notes of meetings.  This is the same man who talks about virtue, but does not have the cajones to show those virtues before Trump.

This entire thing smacks of another Wolff-type expose based on the recollections of one person as viewed through the prism of self-aggrandized Resistance-hero-wannabe eyes.  All these interviews of late are nothing more than martyrdom coated in self-puffery.

Face it folks: Comey is just another schmuck out for a buck.