Former FBI Director James Comey set social media on fire on Saturday when he, without any apparent self-reference, sagely prognosticated on the apolitical nature of justice and the enforcement of laws. To be perfectly clear, let us repeat that this was James Comey.
It almost goes without saying in 2019 that a tweet from a public figure in the political arena will start a "tweetstorm" or mob of negative replies. Still, though, some instances stand out for their exceptional invitation to that sort of mockery and pushback.
This, clearly, is such an occasion.
Political candidates and elected officials should not talk about the future prosecution of any individual. Law enf… https://t.co/4dtGD8Vcz6— James Comey (@James Comey) 1560609017.0
How could it not be, given the contentiousness of Comey's tenure, the outrage Democrats expressed over his public dressing-down of Hillary Clinton (that resulted in no legal consequence), the outrage of Republicans at everything he's said since, the revelations of political motives with former FBI folks like Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, et al, and, you know, every single that has ever happened on a national news level that involved James Comey in any way?
Not to mention the far more recent battles in Congress over the Mueller report, the summary of the report by Barr, the Democrat insistence that Mueller offer at least a verbal indictment of Trump, and so on.
And of course, there's the fact that, like Trump's 2016 "lock her up", 2018 and 2019 have featured an endless string of former FBI officials and sitting politicians talking about the hypothetical future prosecution of President Trump several times an hour, every hour of the day, each day of the year, ever since accepted the Republican nomination.
In other words, it couldn't possibly have been more perfectly designed to invite a Twitter bloodbath. And naturally, that's just exactly what happened.
The reaction came from the right, the middle AND the left, intermixed below for your enjoyment and interpretation. But let's start with a journalist from Wired, who summed up the reaction of all three political bents pretty perfectly in just a few words.
So uh, who's going to tell him https://t.co/G1tDh41eHT
— Alex Whitcomb (@AlexWhitcomb) June 15, 2019
Now let the tweets ensue.
Wow...from the man who made decisions ONLY bases on politics, not the law, comes this doozie of a tweet... @Comey need to reflect on his own guilt at federal prison where he can garden and sort out his political stupidity https://t.co/Krm3CjOYJ5
— Tony Shaffer (@T_S_P_O_O_K_Y) June 15, 2019
pic.twitter.com/xF7M7hjZDq
— Phineas Fahrquar (@irishspy) June 15, 2019
This is the parody account, right?
— Adam Trahan (@AdamTrahan) June 15, 2019
Comey talked about Clinton's emails 11 days before the 2016 election. He failed to mention the FBI's counter intelligence investigation of Trump's campaign team. https://t.co/ekTNttIlTT
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) June 15, 2019
Comey *burns an entire forest*
Comey- Now don't start forest fires!
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) June 15, 2019
Neither should FBI Directors.
— FOCUS #Resist (@ActDontReact) June 15, 2019
James. https://t.co/YEqnY2teVe https://t.co/8S3TIhAUNU— Liz G (@Liz G) 1560609446.0
maybe sit this one out my dude
— YUNG DON JR. (@MNateShyamalan) June 15, 2019
pic.twitter.com/1kQROSLALw
— David McLemore (@dave_in_sa) June 15, 2019
pic.twitter.com/c5DXD12i62
— Concealed Carrie (@GasolineJoy) June 15, 2019
pic.twitter.com/9yjl5nx1r4
— playpiece 🥪 (@playpiece) June 15, 2019
Seriously..... did YOU just really tweet this?
— Chief R. Muterspaw (@chiefmuterspaw) June 15, 2019
pic.twitter.com/P8Rul2xkrY
— Crabman, (LeBron James: franchise killer) (@coryscrib) June 15, 2019
One of our personal faves:
You're even wrong when you're right
— Carlo Ferrandino (@GoNotQuietly) June 15, 2019
This is definitely runner-up to the "who's going to tell him" Tweet.
We call that kind of thing: "Pulling a Comey" https://t.co/I3yf4l08uB
— Bob McGovern (@BobMcGovernJr) June 15, 2019
True story.