James Comey: ex-FBI chief on decade-long collision course with Trump
Abruptly fired from his post as FBI chief by Trump in 2017, Comey went into opposition, winning widespread praise for his independence -- and engaging in a years-long feud that has now seen the 64-year-old indicted.
Ousted FBI director James Comey is sworn in during a hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill June 8, 2017 in Washington, DC. (AFP)
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WASHINGTON - Donald Trump brands his opponent, James Comey, a "dirty cop." At an imposing six feet, eight inches (two meters), Comey would likely call himself the ultimate tough cop.
Abruptly fired from his post as FBI chief by Trump in 2017, Comey went into opposition, winning widespread praise for his independence -- and engaging in a years-long feud that has now seen the 64-year-old indicted.
Thursday's charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice thrust Comey to the forefront of a broader and growing battle over Trump's unprecedented efforts during his second term to amass power and to punish perceived enemies.
But the feud is rooted all the way back in the opening days of Trump's first presidency and shock 2016 election win against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Comey was four years through a standard 10-year term as FBI director when he sparked controversy on the eve of Election Day by issuing a damning assessment of Clinton's use of a private, rather than government email server.
No charges were brought. But Democrats say that bringing the FBI's focus on the issue just as voters were about to go to the polls might have cost Clinton the tight contest.
Former FBI Director James Comey (L) arrives to testify during a closed House Judiciary Committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, December 17, 2018
When Trump decided to keep Comey -- who had been appointed by Democratic president Barack Obama -- critics suspected that the FBI director was being rewarded by the Republican for damaging Clinton.
But just months later, Comey clashed with Trump.
In a March 2017 hearing followed live by millions around the world, Comey confirmed for the first time that the FBI was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 vote and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
A furious Trump fired him in May 2017, overturning inbuilt protections against interference in the FBI and sparking outcry even among some prominent Republicans.
Tenacity and drama
Before coming to prominence for his fight with Trump, Comey was known for his tenacity at the head of the FBI.
He locked horns with Silicon Valley magnates as he sought to force Apple to unlock a smartphone used by the perpetrator of a terror attack in California. The FBI's own experts ended up breaking into the device.
The Clinton emails investigation saw him attacked by Democrats, but he was widely respected within the FBI and credited for independence.
The father of five began his career in New York and racked up experience as a federal prosecutor in New York and the Washington area.
In 2003, he became deputy attorney general and by March 2004 plunged into the kind of high-profile national drama which would come to define his career.
Comey had refused to sign off on extending a secret -- and hugely controversial -- domestic surveillance program that had been instituted after the September 11 terrorist attacks and was about to expire.
With his boss, John Ashcroft, in hospital for emergency surgery, Comey was serving as acting attorney general.
But two senior aides of then-president George W. Bush tried to circumvent Comey, rushing to see the ailing Ashcroft. Comey was alerted and also went to his boss's bedside -- and the backdoor bid was shut down.