President Donald Trump’s relationship with his first FBI director, James Comey, began friendly, but quickly eroded, leading to recent accusations.
Former FBI Director James Comey responds to his indictment
Former FBI director James Comey responded to indictments from the Trump administration via Instagram and called on voters to continue their engagement.
WASHINGTON – A now-difficult relationship with President Donald Trump’s first FBI director, James Comey, has regained mutual acclaim and flashy dinner early in Trump’s first term in 2017.
But it quickly went downhill, and Trump fired Comey and launched a long-term revenge against him.
Below are some key events in the Trump Comey feud that the Department of Justice received against the former head of national primary law enforcement agencies on September 25th, which ultimately led to the federal accusations that the Department of Justice received.
July 5, 2016:
Three years after serving as FBI director, Comey is holding a press conference that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will not be accused of handling confidential information on her private email server as Secretary of State. Trump, the president’s Republican candidate, is furious about him saying it is proof that he is “equipped with a system.” “Very unfair!” Trump posted on Twitter. Meanwhile, Comey’s FBI had begun investigating email hacks from the Russian Democratic Party and other interference in elections.
October 31, 2016
Trump praised Comey for publicly announcing that he was notifying Congress of additional developments in the FBI’s Clinton email investigation on the last day of the campaign. Critics, including Clinton, were furious and said Comey’s move would unfairly help Trump win. “It took a lot of courage. …He regained his reputation… What he did was right,” Trump said.
January 6, 2017
After an information briefing on Russian interference in the election, Comey privately describes President Trump’s “personally sensitive aspects of information” included in the now growing Steel Dejar, including the Kremlin’s efforts to influence Trump’s campaign. Comey quickly documented the exchange in a memo from the same period, and he later testifies, fearing what happened, fearing a future conflict with Trump. “To ensure accuracy, the moment I left the meeting I started typing it on the laptop of an FBI vehicle outside Trump Tower,” Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on 8 June 2017, investigating election interference in Russia.
January 27, 2017
Trump and Comey have a private dinner at the White House. Trump says he wanted to stay because “he asked for dinner,” despite the 10-year FBI terms being designed to ensure independence from politics beyond the presidential administration. Trump repeatedly pushes Comey to pledge his loyalty to him despite continuing Russian investigations, Comey testifies later. Comey resists, offers integrity, and the two settle for “honest loyalty.”
February 14, 2017
At an oval office meeting, Trump tells all attendees except Comey to leave and tells the FBI director to “let Flynn go.” “I hope you can make your path clear to let go of this and let go of Flynn,” Trump said in a memo from Comey at the same time. “He’s a good guy.”
May 9, 2017
Trump surprises the political world by firing Comey at the height of Russia’s election interference investigation. Trump initially argued that it was due to Comey’s handling of Clinton’s email server investigation, which he previously defended, but later admitted that “this Russia” was a real factor. In his firing letter, Trump mentioned the FBI investigation and thanked him, “on three separate occasions, he let me know that I’m not under investigation.”
May 12, 2017
Trump tweeted a warning to Comey, suggesting that their conversations were recorded and could be embarrassing his former FBI director. “James Comey hopes there’s no “tape” of our conversation before it starts leaking to the press! “Trump tweets. Comey later tells the senator, “Lord, I hope there’s a tape.” Then, on June 22nd, Trump floped a flip-flop and tweeted, “I didn’t make or have that recording.”
June 8, 2017
Speaking publicly for the first time since a sudden fire, Comey gives a bomb testimony before a Senate committee. He said he believes Trump ordered him to stop investigating his former top aide, Michael Flynn, ties with Russia. Comey also told the Senate Intelligence Email Committee that he believes Trump fired him to ease pressure from an ongoing FBI investigation into possible collusion between fellow Trump campaigners and Russia.
April 12, 2018
The excerpt comes from all of Comey’s memoirs, “Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, Leadership.” He blows up Trump as “unethical, dealing with truth and institutional values.” Comey also “his leadership is about dealing, ego-driven and personal loyalty,” causing serious damage to the country’s norms and traditions.
December 9, 2019
Justice Department inspectors will provide a report on Crossfire Hurricane, the code name for the FBI’s Trump Russia investigation. Political bias exposes Trump’s longstanding claims that political bias plays a role in the FBI’s decision to launch a probe and target Trump’s campaign, saying there is a valid and de facto basis for doing so. Also, serious problems have been discovered in the way that FBI applications for secret FISA surveillance warrants were obtained.
September 30, 2020
Comey is called to testify before Senate Republicans as part of an effort to reconsider the FBI’s Russian investigation into a campaign for the Second White House term. Comey defends the investigation as “by book” and essential. Comey will also release a statement that will later form the basis for criminal charges against him, including whether he approved anyone else in the FBI as an anonymous source of news reports about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton’s investigation.
May 15, 2025
The Secret Service and the FBI say they are investigating Comey after posting the image of “8647” on social media. “The formation of cool shells on my beach walk,” Comey said in an Instagram post. Comey later defeated the Post and said he was unaware that the obvious political message could be linked to violence. In American terminology, number 86 can be used as a verb. This means throwing someone out of the bar because they’re drunk or disordered, and 47 is the 47th President Trump code. “He knew exactly what it meant. The kids know what it meant,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
July 16, 2025
James Comey’s daughter, federal prosecutor Molen Comey, New York, worked on prosecutors against Jeffrey Epstein, Gislaine Maxwell and Sean “Diddy” Combs and was fired by the Justice Department. According to Reuters, Mohren Comey was given a note about her firing.
September 20, 2025
Trump called on Attorney General Pam Bondy in his post on Cowee Social to pursue his political opponents, including Comey, calling the former FBI director “as guilty as hell.” “We can’t delay it anymore,” Trump said, “Justice must be provided now!!!” Critics meant that Trump wanted Comey to act before the restrictions laws disappeared on September 30 regarding 2020 testimony before Congress. In another post on the same day, Trump reportedly fired Eric Sheebert, who had recently served as a US lawyer for the Eastern District of Virginia, and reportedly refused to file charges against Comey. Trump replaced Sabert with former private defense attorney Lindsay Harrigan, who charged his case.
September 25, 2025
Comey is being charged with accusations of lying and obstructing Congress regarding his 2020 testimony. Prosecutors allege Comey falsely said he “approved someone else in the FBI” as an anonymous source of news reports about the FBI investigation. He says he will claim his innocence and fight the accusations. Trump welcomes the charges as proof of his claim that the Russian investigation is politically motivated. “One of the worst people this country has ever exposed to is James Comey, the former corrupt head of the FBI,” Trump posted to The Society of Truth. “He was very bad for our country for so long and now it’s the beginning of his being held accountable for his crimes against our country.”
Contribution: Aisha Baguch
