Introduction
Ethical norms and standards play a crucial role in any organization. Government agencies, in particular, require their employees to follow strict protocols to ensure they serve the country and its citizenry with integrity and grace. Nevertheless, conflicts may arise if one’s ethical standards do not align with those they are mandated to follow by their place of employment. In the context of a government agency, such problems can have a substantial adverse impact on the political life of a nation and society and its most vulnerable members. This paper will address the ethical violations of former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Brien Comey, Jr., his involvement in Hilary Clinton’s emails investigation, the Christopher Steele Dossier, and Fusion GPS.
Scope and Methodology
The scope of this study is limited to the investigation of James Comey’s tenure as the Director of the FBI from the perspective of the ethical responsibilities installed upon government officials. Every government agency has a strict protocol for its employees, particularly those given head positions, as they are privy to sensitive information. Therefore, every person employed by the government is presented with ethical norms and standards to follow in a variety of situations that can be viewed as challenging to navigate (Martinez, 2021). Thus, the research will consider the importance of norms in modern-day government ethics, the risks of government personnel disregarding those standards, as well as the dangerous precedent being set if their behavior is not addressed. In this research, James Comey’s disclosure of presidential candidate Hilary Clinton’s official business emails, as well as his involvement in the Christopher Steele Dossier and Fusion GPS research, will be examined.
In order to evaluate the ethical norms and standards in the government as well as James Comey’s violations of them, secondary data is to be collected. Specifically, the secondary data used for the purposes of this paper will include scholarly articles on ethics in the government and the infringements committed by James Comey during his tenure in the FBI. Thematical analysis of the collected data will be utilized in order to address governmental ethical standards and find recurring patterns in Comey’s ethics violations more comprehensively.
James Comey’s Ethical Violations
Hilary Clinton Email Controversy
The Hilary Clinton email scandal was made public by the Director of the FBI shortly before the 2016 presidential elections in which Clinton ran against Donald Trump. It is believed that the investigation of Clinton’s conduct by Director Comey shortly before the presidential election was one of the causes of the candidate’s defeat (Buresh & Pavone, 2018). The investigation revolved around Clinton’s use of a private email server for official government business during her tenure as a Secretary of State between 2009 and 2013 (Buresh & Pavone, 2018). The FBI investigation revealed that the utilization of a private email server instead of a government one resulted in over a hundred emails being sent without necessary classification measures being taken (Buresh & Pavone, 2018). Initially, it was announced that no charges would be made against Clinton. However, in October 2016, an investigation into Congressman Anthony Wiener, the husband of the vice chair of Clinton’s presidential campaign, Huma Abedin, led to the inquiry into the email server reopening (Buresh & Pavone, 2018). Overall, it can be argued that the FBI investigation into a presidential candidate negatively impacted the campaign.
The public announcement of the investigation shortly before the presidential election was held was the decision made by the then FBI Director James Comey. It should be noted that at the time of the announcement, the FBI had strict guidelines in place for such situations. Although Hilary Clinton violated federal records rules set by the government, Comey’s announcement of reopening the investigation went against the established FBI protocol (Martinez, 2021). Thus, considering the vast implications of the announcement, James Comey’s actions can be viewed as both professional and ethical misconduct. Below is a demonstration of how different words were used during Hillary Clinton´s campaign tenure (Figure 1).
Christopher Steele Dossier and Fusion GPS Controversies
The Christopher Steele dossier, compiled with the help of private investigation company Fusion GPS contained allegations of the 2016 presidential elections being manipulated by Donald Trump’s campaign in cooperation with the Russian government. In 2017, James Comey was fired from his position by President Trump on account of his involvement in the investigation of Russian intelligence agencies collaborating with Trump’s employees (Ledewitz, 2019). It should be noted that the report was later found inconsequential as no conclusive evidence was produced (Ledewitz, 2019). The dossier was compiled independently by a former MI6 agent, Christopher Steele, and acquired by Comey, who later set up a one-on-one session with the President, who saw the meeting as a confrontation (Sharp, 2020). Thus, Comey acted on his personal beliefs, violating the ethical norms and standards of the FBI. According to Ledewitz (2019), Comey’s involvement in the investigation and his dismissal resulted in a crisis of confidence in the Justice Department’s ability to perform its functions effectively. Overall, it can be stated that the personal differences between Comey and President Trump led to the crisis of trust and Comey’s dismissal.
Analysis
The thematic analysis of the secondary sources yielded several motifs, including valuing one’s personal ethical norms and standards over those set by government agencies, valuing one’s opinion, insubordination, and precedent being set prior. Martinez (2021) notes that by going against the established FBI protocol of disclosing investigations into presidential candidates shortly before an election, Comey put his ethical norms and standards above those of the FBI. Thus, the ethical guidelines of a government agency were disregarded by the head of that agency.
Furthermore, Comey’s decision to bring the Christopher Steele dossier to President Trump in the one-on-one meeting can be viewed as an error in judgment and an attempt to prove his point of view. Sharp (2020) emphasizes that ideological differences between Comey and former President Trump exacerbated the situation. This finding raises the question of whether Comey’s beliefs and opinions prevented him from performing his duty and effectively serving the country, as his actions antagonized the President to the point of dismissal. Thus, the question of insubordination should be addressed as the research indicates that the Christopher Steele dossier was acquired without the former President’s knowledge (Sharp, 2020). Finally, Martinez (2021) reports that before the Clinton investigation, other government officials, including President Barack Obama, overextended their executive power. Therefore, it can be assumed that officials often disregard the ethical norms of the government in positions of power.
Conclusion
In summary, the involvement of former FBI Director James Comey in the Hilary Clinton email and Christopher Steele dossier controversies serves as an example of a government official violating the ethical norms of the government. By announcing the Clinton investigation, he went against the established FBI guidelines and allowed his personal views and beliefs to cloud his judgment in the Steele ordeal. By disregarding the standards of the agency he was the head of, Comey created a crisis of trust in the FBI and the Department of Justice as a whole.
References
Buresh, D. L., & Pavone, T. (2018). Why no one knew that Hillary Clinton would lose the 2016 election. American Journal of Political Science Review, 1, 1–18. Web.
Ledewitz, B. (2019). What Is the Best Model for Investigating Presidential Wrongdoing, Today? Duquesne Law Review, 57(2), 225–251. Web.
Martinez, V. R. (2021). The role of norms in modern-day government ethics. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, 35(2), 771–793. Web.
Sharp, E. (2020). Roy Cohn’s America: Conservatism, Sexual Politics, and Memory in the 21st Century. The Macksey Journal, 1, 1–16. Web.