Everybody loves “disruptors” in the tech world, because they shake things up and introduce exciting new ideas that people might not even realize they want yet. FBI Director James Comey is sort of like one of those people, but instead of disrupting the tech industry, he’s more famous for disrupting the 2016 presidential election. As you may recall, Comey and the FBI determined in July of last year that no criminal charges should be brought against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server, but just a few days before the election, he went against the FBI’s own recommendations and made a big show of sending a letter to Congress saying that there were more emails that had to be reviewed. He eventually conceded that there was no new evidence against Clinton, but the damage had already been done.
Now, at least partly because of James Comey, we’re living in an America that is trying to ban Muslims from entering the country, that is still threatening to build a wall between here and Mexico, and that can ignore the will of the people long enough to enjoy a Pixar movie. As for Comey himself, Spin is reporting that he’s been invited to speak at SXSW this year, so he’s doing just fine. He’ll be appearing on a panel about “the tensions between privacy and national security” with Jeffrey Herbst, the CEO of Washington D.C.’s Newseum.
Here’s the full statement from SXSW: