Exclusive Comey event set for June

Former FBI director James Comey, author of Trump exposé A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, is coming to London for an exclusive UK event in June. 

In conversation with BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis, before a live audience of 2,000, Comey will explore "what good, ethical leadership looks like", drawing on personal experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations in the 30 years that he has been at the centre of American history.

When President Trump sacked Comey as FBI Director in May last year, he "ignited a political firestorm with huge implications for American democracy", said the publisher. Comey’s dismissal led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller to look at possible links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign – an investigation which continues to rock Washington as it moves ever closer to the Oval Office.

In this exclusive event in partnership with Intelligence Squared, Comey will describe his first-hand experience of those early months of the Trump presidency, as well as discussing his motivations for "some of the most difficult and controversial decisions" he has made throughout his career.

Before his tenure at the head of the FBI under Obama from 2013 to 2017, Comey served as a senior prosecutor during the Clinton administration and then as Deputy Attorney General under President George W. Bush. His career under both Republican and Democratic presidents brought him to the centre of the most important cases in modern history, including prosecuting the mafia, overhauling the Bush administration’s surveillance and counterterrorism policies, securing the conviction of lifestyle guru Martha Stewart for perjury and leading the controversial investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

Jeremy Trevathan, publisher at Pan Macmillan, said: “Throughout his long career in service to the US justice system, James Comey played an active role in some of the most significant events in recent American history. In A Higher Loyalty he takes you into the room with him, face to face with the Mafia and three acting Presidents. This is a not-to be missed opportunity to join him in the room and hear first-hand his experiences of leadership.”

The event will take place on Thursday 21st June at The Barbican Centre, London. Tickets are priced at £35.

The publication of A Higher Loyalty was brought forward to coincide with the US, after the book attracted widespread attention in April after its contents were leaked to the Guardian.