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Trump and Clinton’s Nemesis: James Comey Live On Stage With Armando Iannucci

Politics &
Economics

Crime, punishment and accountability at the highest echelons of politics

‘I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job.’  – President Trump, to Russian officials visiting him in the Oval Office in 2017

James Comey is the former director of the FBI who is disliked by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in equal measure. His decision to investigate Clinton’s personal email server during the 2016 presidential election campaign is viewed by her supporters as a decisive factor in her losing the race to Donald Trump. But Trump is no fan of Comey either. In 2017 a seething President Trump summoned Comey to a meeting in the Oval Office where he pressured him to deny that Trump and his entourage were under investigation for collusion with Russia. Comey refused to give information to Trump and was fired from the FBI in May 2017. 

In June 2023 Comey came to the Intelligence Squared stage, where in conversation with acclaimed satirist and screenwriter Armando Iannucci he will discuss crime, punishment and accountability at the highest echelons of politics. Drawing on his personal experiences and with reference to his new crime novel Central Park West, Comey will reveal the detective work, backdoor dealings and tradecraft involved in FBI and Department of Justice attempts to build legal cases against criminals and political figures. 

 

Speakers for the motion

  • James Comey

    Former Director of the FBI and crime novelist. His new novel is Westport.

Chair

  • Armando Iannucci

    Writer, satirist and broadcaster

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Speaker

James Comey

Former Director of the FBI and crime novelist. His new novel is Westport.

Director of the FBI from 2013 - 2017 until he was fired by President Donald Trump. He previously worked as an assistant district attorney in New York, prosecuting organised crime figures, and on terrorism cases as assistant DA in Virginia. He moved into federal law enforcement working in the FBI for many years. He is the author of books including A Higher Loyalty and thrillers Central Park West and the forthcoming Westport. 
Chair

Armando Iannucci

Writer, satirist and broadcaster

Armando Iannucci is a writer, director, and broadcaster whose critically acclaimed work spans film, television, and radio. His career began at BBC Radio Scotland, where he moved from writing comedy sketches to redefining satire on Radio 4 with On The Hour and launching Alan Partridge in Knowing Me Knowing You. He then went on to create the iconic BBC series The Thick of It, which won five BAFTAs. The success of the series led to the creation of the Oscar-nominated film In the Loop. Iannucci later brought his sharp political wit to the U.S. with HBO’s Veep, which earned widespread acclaim and won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. His films The Death of Stalin and The Personal History of David Copperfield received numerous accolades, including BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations and multiple Best Screenplay awards. More recently, he explored sci-fi satire with HBO’s Avenue 5, and now co-hosts the BBC Radio 4 podcast Strong Message Here with Helen Lewis, where they unpack the absurdities of modern political language.