Just read about a half-dozen essays about James Comey, spanning a wide range of political viewpoints. I'm trying to decide for myself what I think of the guy and I think what I think of the guy at the moment is pretty much what Matt Yglesias thinks of the guy. Comey is a bit of a hero in that in the era of Trump, we need government officials who will say no to corrupt orders. And Trump is the perfect explanation of why we need that.
One key sentence from the Yglesias piece is when he quotes Adam Serwer…
"…the FBI is petrified of criticism from its conservative detractors, and is relatively indifferent to its liberal critics." And over the course of 2016, it showed — when Mitch McConnell wanted Comey to keep quiet about Trump and Russia, he did. When Trump-friendly elements among the rank and file wanted him to speak up about Anthony Weiner's laptop, he did.
Therein lies a lot of the reason why we have Trump in the White House. So it may be difficult for some of us to be glad there are/were people like Comey in our government. But at least he said no some of the time.
For another view of Comey, read Matt Taibbi. I'm not saying he's wrong; just that at the moment, I'm leaning towards the other Matt's characterization. Your mileage might vary as might mine as I think more about this. I'm also trying to decide why the hell I'm up this early.