James Comey

Former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Since graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1982 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1985, James Comey has been a prosecutor, defense lawyer, general counsel, teacher, writer, and leader. He most recently served in government as director of the FBI, and he presently serves as a Charles F. Kettering Foundation senior fellow. His bestselling book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, was published in 2018 and made into a limited television series in 2020. His second book, Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust, also a New York Times bestseller, was published in 2021. His latest book—his first work of fiction—is another bestseller: Central Park West, a legal thriller inspired by Comey’s long career in federal law enforcement, including his years in Manhattan as a mob prosecutor and later the chief federal prosecutor. Jim (as he is known to family and friends) and his wife, Patrice, live in Virginia and are the parents of five and grandparents of three (so far).

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The Charles F. Kettering Foundation has established an elite group of senior fellows to work with the foundation to advance our pro-inclusive democracy mission. Learn more about all of our Kettering fellows.

Since graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1982 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1985, James Comey has been a prosecutor, defense lawyer, general counsel, teacher, writer, and leader. He most recently served in government as director of the FBI. His bestselling book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, was published in 2018 and made into a limited television series in 2020. His second book, Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust, also a New York Times bestseller, was published in 2021. His latest book—his first work of fiction—is another bestseller: Central Park West, a legal thriller inspired by Comey’s long career in federal law enforcement, including his years in Manhattan as a mob prosecutor and later the chief federal prosecutor. Jim (as he is known to family and friends) and his wife, Patrice, live in Virginia and are the parents of five and grandparents of three (so far).