The Comey effect: 10 years ago, an FBI news conference changed America

NBC News ^ | July 5, 2026 10:00 am CDT | Ryan J. Reilly

[E. Pluribus Unum]

“It is hard to think of another single event in the last decade that has had such far-reaching and sweeping and unintended global consequences as Jim Comey’s press conference,” said one historian.

On the morning of July 5, 2016, the word went out to reporters on the Justice Department beat: Get down to FBI headquarters, the brutalist J. Edgar Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Across the street, at the main Justice Department building, officials first learned about the planned news conference by Director James Comey from a media inquiry. Comey later told investigators he made a conscious decision to “go at it alone” — purposely concealing his plans from his boss, Attorney General Loretta Lynch — to publicly reveal details of an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He told his staff to do the same and to contact Lynch only after the news conference had already been announced.

That 15-minute news conference 10 years ago broke traditions that had been solidified decades earlier in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Law enforcement officials didn’t normally publicize details of an investigation that would result in no charges and worked to avoid intersecting with politics, especially during elections.

Democrats argued that Comey’s news conference and public handling of the Clinton probe over possible misuse of her emails and improper handling of classified information led directly to the election of Donald Trump.

Comey later said the idea that his handling of the probe swayed the 2016 election made him “mildly nauseous.” But he thought it was necessary to be transparent.

But even setting aside the question of whether his handling of the Clinton probe ultimately led to Trump’s victory, the domino effect continues.

“It is...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

[TornadoAlley3]

Poor Hillary, nobody told her that the road would be easy. She come too far….

[sauropod]

.

[Paladin2]

8607.....

[It’s just a kool number....]

[JEdger was #1...]

[DoodleBob]

“It is hard to think of another single event in the last decade that has had such far-reaching and sweeping and unintended global consequences as Jim Comey’s press conference,” said one historian.

Umm….

[DoodleBob]

“It is hard to think of another single event in the last decade that has had such far-reaching and sweeping and unintended global consequences as Jim Comey’s press conference,” said one historian.

Or this one…

[Dr. Sivana]

Poor Hillary, nobody told her that the road would be easy. She come too far….

Nonetheless, she is in no way tahrd.

[frank ballenger]

It makes me angry that sources such as wikipedia cover for the evil ones by pretending the term only applies to the innocent kichen and waitstaff workers fun slang.

It means someone wants to kill someone.

[kiryandil]

She ain’t no ways tired...

[Paladin2]

She ‘tard……..

[Dr. Sivana]

When I saw the shells, I thought of the “Get Smart” series, where Max is Secret Agent 86. Comey after all, is in charge of a spy operation, like “CONTROL”. There was an Agent 47, but her gets killed early in Season 2, sort of like the red shirts in Star Trek, but funnier.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I still have a crush on Barbara Feldon.

[Dr. Sivana]

I was just a little kid, but Barbara Feldon, Elizabeth Montgomery, Juliet Mills, Diahann Carroll, Pay Priest and all three of the Bradley girls in Petticoat Junction were all quite lovely. List is NOT exhaustive.

[SunkenCiv]

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[nwrep]

At the time I thought he was unusually harsh about her behavior. It destroyed her numbers afterwards.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

At the time I thought he was unusually harsh about her behavior. It destroyed her numbers afterwards.

Yeah. Afterward they said she only had a 98% chance of winning.

[Jeff Chandler]

but Barbara Feldon, Elizabeth Montgomery, Juliet Mills, Diahann Carroll, Pay Priest and all three of the Bradley girls in Petticoat Junction were all quite lovely

Dittoes.

[Reeses]

And Barbara Eden is part of the reason 98% of Baby Boomer men are straight. Modern media has dropped that to 83.6% for young men, and only 63.6% for womb-men, of which many have been brainwashed to actually hate real men and babies.

[KarlInOhio]

I still think Comey’s “investigation” of Hillary was an attempt to cover for her. The private email server was beginning to get traction with the public, so the FBI was going to investigate it thoroughly. In a couple of days the results of the investigation would be released declaring Hillary to be completely innocent. But Comey just handled it clumsily and caught people by surprise. With a little more coordination, Hillary could have welcomed the “investigation” and celebrated her inevitable vindication.