Comey Issues New Video Warning: ‘A Prosecutor’s Client Is Justice — Not Power’

Former FBI Director and former U.S. Attorney James Comey released a new video on Sunday on his Substack, offering a pointed reminder about what a federal prosecutor’s duty actually is — and why that role is under strain today.

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Comey opens the video by revisiting a creed passed down to prosecutors in the Southern District of New York during the Watergate era: absolute integrity, fairness, candor, and one guiding rule — never bring a case unless you’re convinced it’s the right thing to do.

To show how easily that standard can be tested, Comey recounts a 1988 Bronx narcotics case from early in his career. DEA agents arranged a one-kilogram cocaine buy. Two men were charged: Carlos, who carried the kilo during the delivery, and Henry, who only introduced an informant to a dealer and was never involved again.

Comey says he believed Henry didn’t deserve the mandatory five-year federal sentence the charge carried. He told his supervisors he was uncomfortable prosecuting him — but they refused to drop the case and ordered him to take it to trial.

A jury convicted Carlos but acquitted Henry.

Comey calls the episode his own failure, saying prosecutors must refuse to pursue cases they don’t believe in, even if that means challenging superiors. He stressed that prosecutors serve “justice,” not political leadership.

He ends the video by urging the public to support the career DOJ attorneys who he says are “still hanging on” despite political pressure: “Keep the faith.”