When Senator James E. Risch, a Republican, noted that the president had merely “hoped for an outcome,” Mr. Comey replied, “I mean,
this is the president of the United States, with me alone, saying ‘I hope this.’ I took it as, this is what he wants me to do.”
King Henry’s contemporaries likewise assumed that a ruler’s wish constituted a command: Although he
denied any intention of inciting murder, Henry was widely held responsible for Becket’s death.
It rings in my ears as kind of ‘Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?’ ”
These are the words that King Henry II of England allegedly cried out in 1170, frustrated
by the political opposition of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury.
Trump’s Meddlesome Priest -
By SARA LIPTONJUNE 8, 2017
By now many people will have googled the words “meddlesome priest.” The phrase was uttered by James Comey, the former F. B.I.
When he was asked if he took President Trump’s “hope”
that he would drop the Flynn-Russia investigation “as a directive,” Mr. Comey responded, “Yes, yes.
The pope issued an order prohibiting Henry from attending church services or participating in the sacraments,
and the king was eventually forced to do penance for the violence perpetrated in his name.
Although the administration offered various reasons for the firing of Mr. Comey, it is clear that Mr. Trump considered his allegiance to F. B.I.
