Former FBI director James Comey stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, where Colbert asked him his thoughts on current Trump-appointed FBI director Kash Patel.
Comey was fired by President Trump in 2017, apparently due to his refusal to drop an investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia. Patel, meanwhile, is a long-time Trump loyalist who was appointed as FBI Director by Trump and confirmed in February 2025.
“Kash Patel says he wants to… Let’s see if I got this right,“ Colbert said. ”He wants to live part-time in Vegas and work remotely, far away from FBI headquarters in Washington. Just from your experience, does Director of the FBI feel like a part-time job?”
Comey replied, “It’s not that kind of job, but in his case, I’m actually cool with that.” With a wave of his hand he added, “Spend all the time you want.”
Earlier in the interview, Comey noted that some of his former colleagues are “worried about the reality and the reputation of the FBI right now.”
When Colbert asked him what he believed made a good FBI director, Comey responded, “It has to be someone who is committed to protecting the reality and the perception that justice is just, that that’s an institution that stands outside of anything that smacks of fear or favor.”
“That has to be your passion,” Comey said. “Integrity is everything in that organization.”
Comey’s interview with Colbert comes after a week of allegations in MAGA world that Comey had called for Trump’s assassination with a picture he posted on Instagram.
The picture showed a collection of seashells he’d found on the beach, arranged to spell the numbers “86” and “47.”
Comey repeated his previous explanation that his post had no violent intentions, and expressed hope that this would be the end of the investigations from the Secret Service.
Colbert also asked Comey his thoughts on Trump’s controversial decision to blanket pardon all the Jan 6 rioters on his first day back in office.
“It was an obscenity that will stain this country forever,” Comey said.
He later added, “It totally undercuts the deterrent effect of the prosecutions. It sends a terrible message to people who might investigate crimes like that.“
“You are not going to get ahead in the FBI by working stuff like that, given what you saw happen with the pardons,” Comey argued. “It’s awful on multiple dimensions.”
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