James Comey Saved His Biggest Surprises for His Book's Smallest Details
Audiences expecting any surprises from former FBI director James Comey's sitdown with ABC News's George Stephanopoulous may have been left sorely disappointed.
After weeks of book excerpts and promotional clips, most of the biggest bombshells from the interview were already well known. But the smaller details from Comey's memoir, "A Higher Loyalty," that he divulged in the "20/20" special on Sunday night hold the most intrigue.
"What I think will make some ripples are the additional details that are provided in some of those anecdotes that he's telling," said Lachlan Markay, White House Correspondent at The Daily Beast.
Markay said that the most dramatic elements of the Comey-Trump saga are not grabbing the headlines because, "most of that has leaked out over the past year or so."
Comey spent most of his primetime interview and much of his book recounting the early days of the Trump administration, and the events that would ultimately lead to his termination. Those events have been well documented by Comey and the news media, but that doesn't mean the book won't make news.
In fact, more tangential stories like Comey's revelation that the White House chief of staff John Kelly called the president's firing of Comey "dishonorable" could have "the potential to actually affect some staffing decisions and policies," said Markay.
The Hollywood Reporter said the early ratings numbers for the "20/20" special show the Comey interview drew an average of 9.8 million viewers for ABC. One of those viewers may well have been President Trump.
"The president of the United States is watching this and has been watching the Comey media blitz very closely," said Asawin Suebsaeng, White House Reporter at The Daily Beast.
Comey is set to appear this week on "The View," "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and "The Rachel Maddow Show."
"A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership" hits bookstore shelves on Tuesday.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/let-the-book-tour-begin-whats-next-for-james-comey).
The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health on Wednesday over a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Jimmy Hoover, the Supreme Court editor-at-large for Law360, joined Cheddar to break down the momentous legal fight. "This is the biggest abortion case at the Supreme Court in 30 years," he said. "It is a … a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade."
Matt Peron, Director of Research at Janus Henderson Investors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down the factors leading to today's market slide and says there's more to it than Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments about speeding up tapering efforts.
Walmart CEO Dough McMillon praised the Biden administration's efforts to ease supply chain constraints after the company saw a 26 percent jump in shipments over the last month. President Joe Biden had announced back in October that California ports would operate on a 24/7 basis.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest developments with the Omicron variant that are spooking markets once again. Twitter's @Jack is leaving, SCOTUS takes up abortion rights and the world has a brand new republic.
The Biden Administration is set to buy 10 million courses of Pfizer's Covid pill if it gains emergency use authorization from the FDA. With this purchase, the U.S. will receive more than 13 million courses of antiviral pills aimed at treating Covid and reducing severe illness and death. Pfizer's pill has been shown to reduce risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percent, proving it could be a key tool in the fight against the pandemic. Dr. Soumi Eachempati, Co-Founder, CEO & CMO of Cleared4, joined Cheddar News to discuss.
The Build Back Better Act has been at the center of endless negotiations and debate, ultimately landing as a nearly $1.8 trillion plan. One of the highlights is $170 billion dollars for affordable housing, making history as the largest investment in the sector to date. Eliza Collins, politics reporter for The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News to break down the bill.
The Biden Administration is releasing 50 million barrels of oil from the U.S. oil reserves in hopes of easing soaring gas prices. Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Global Energy and Climate Innovation Editor at the Economist, joined Cheddar to discuss.