James Comey and the difficulty of maintaining credibility with conspiracy theorists
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This week Steve Inskeep and Carrie Johnson at NPR interviewed former FBI director James Comey. For later airplay, NPR redacted much of what was interesting about the interview. Inskeep asked: “What would you say was your greatest concern when it became clJames Comey and the difficulty of maintaining credibility with conspiracy theorists
This week Steve Inskeep and Carrie Johnson at NPR interviewed former FBI director James Comey. For later airplay, NPR redacted much of what was interesting about the interview. Inskeep asked: “What would you say was your greatest concern when it became clear to you that the email case was going to at some point come down to a decision by you?” James Comey: My greatest concern towards the end of that email investigation — it lasted about a year — towards the end was how does the Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, credibly close this investigation without charges and maximize public confidence that it was done in a just way. If it ends without charges. Because by the spring, if it continued on the same course and speed it was on, it looked to me like it was going to end without charges. And the credibility of the institution is important even in ordinary times. But all the more so when you're investigating one of the two candidates for president of the United States. How are you able to maintain public confidence that you're not a partisan, it's not the Obama Justice Department trying to give a break to Hillary Clinton. Comey’s concern isn’t the truth. His concern is that his organization—and subsequently, he—remain credible. And to him, credibility means not appearing partisan. The idea that we should try to please both “sides” no matter how conspiratorial one side is can corrupt organizations and people from doing what’s right into doing what is “politically correct.” From the interview, here’s more on how Comey’s view influenced his decisions and, more importantly, how propaganda networks like Fox News work to influence people into trying to be fair to conspiracy theorists. Read more