James Comey is living out a plot twist even his legal thrillers couldn't dream up. The former FBI director—currently a prime target in Donald Trump's retribution efforts—has become a prolific crime novelist since 2023, publishing four books in his Nora Carleton series. His latest, Red Verdict, features a fictional prosecutor working in Manhattan's U.S. attorney's office. That's the office Comey once led.
But reality has proven messier than any courtroom drama: Comey's daughter Maurene, a top prosecutor in that same office, was fired by Trump and is now suing the government.
Trump's Justice Department has made Comey a moving target. According to Rolling Stone, he was indicted last September for allegedly lying to Congress about leaks related to the Russia probe—a charge a federal court immediately dismissed. The administration returned in April with another indictment: threatening to kill the president. The charge rested on Comey posting a picture of seashells arranged on a beach to look like "8647"—Trump-speak for "get rid of Trump."
The seashell indictment is unlikely to survive court review. Comey himself has been darkly humorous about it. But the pattern is unmistakable: Trump is using the Justice Department against his enemies, with Comey as the main target.
Comey's thrillers are generating genuine attention. Rolling Stone called them "surprisingly engrossing," largely because the fictional characters feel suspiciously autobiographical. The man is writing his trauma into bestsellers while the real-life version plays out.
Comey was scheduled to sit down with Rolling Stone on May 1st but delayed at the last minute after learning about the seashell reindictment.
