FBI Director James Comey Received Millions from Clinton Foundation-Unproven!
Summary of eRumor:
FBI Director James Comey chose not to prosecute Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server because he received millions from the Clinton Foundation.
The Truth:
It’s true that James Comey received millions from Lockheed Martin, but there’s no proof that Comey’s position or salary at Lockheed Martin were related to the Clinton Foundation.
The rumor started in September 2016 with a story published by Breitbart under the headline, “Exposed: FBI Director James Comey’s Clinton Foundation Connection.” The story reported that Comey was “deeply entrenched in the big-money cronyism culture of Washington, D.C.” and continued:
Comey served as deputy attorney general under John Ashcroft for two years of the Bush administration. When he left the Bush administration, he went directly to Lockheed Martin and became vice president, acting as a general counsel.
How much money did James Comey make from Lockheed Martin in his last year with the company, which he left in 2010? More than $6 million in compensation.
Lockheed Martin is a Clinton Foundation donor. The company admitted to becoming a Clinton Global Initiative member in 2010.
According to records, Lockheed Martin is also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, which paid Bill Clinton $250,000 to deliver a speech in 2010.
In 2010, Lockheed Martin won 17 approvals for private contracts from the Hillary Clinton State Department.
It’s true that Comey accepted a position at Lockheed Martin that paid him millions, but it’s not clear that the position had anything to do with the Clinton Foundation. The idea that the State Department granted Lockheed Martin 17 private contracts under Hillary Clinton doesn’t necessarily mean much, either, since Lockheed is the biggest federal contractor and rakes in hundreds of billions each year in federal contracts regardless of who’s serving as secretary of state.
And, prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Comey worked (as Breitbart reported) in President George W. Bush’s administration as a deputy attorney general under John Ashcroft. That means Comey wasn’t linked to Democrats or the Clintons at the time.
In a USA Today Network report from 2011, Comey explained his decision to leave the Bush administration to join Lockheed Martin. He said it was made out of financial necessity because he had five children who would be attending college, but it’s not an unusual transition for a high-level cabinet member to make:
In October 2005, Comey accepted a position as senior vice president and general counsel for Lockheed Martin Corp., the Pentagon’s leading defense contractor. His decision to trade his high-profile career in government service for the private sector had the simplest of motives.
“I have five children between the ages of 5 and 17 and will be paying college tuitions for the next 15 years,” Comey said. “I want them to be able to attend the colleges of their choice.”
Comey, who was in charge of more than 140 lawyers at Lockheed, continued, “I dreaded leaving public service. I loved getting paid for doing something good for the country. Even so, I am excited about my opportunity at Lockheed Martin.”
Comey weighed his options carefully. Unlike some of his counterparts, who entered the private sector after years in public service, Comey couldn’t take too much time off to ponder the possibilities.
“I needed to make mortgage payments and support my family,” he chuckled. “But, the decision was an easy one because I respect and admire the corporate values of Lockheed Martin. They are a successful company with a strong reputation. I’m not here to clean up compliance issues. I’m here to build for the future.”
To satisfy any concerns about conflict of interest, Comey publicly stated that, during his tenure as deputy attorney general and his time as U.S. attorney, he never had any dealings with Lockheed Martin.
Breitbart also noted that Comey had been granted a position on the board of London bank HSBC Holdings — another organization that has a relationship with the Clinton Foundation.
And again, it’s true that Comey was appointed to the board of HSBC Holdings in 2013 — but gain, there’s no proof that the appointment was in any way related to the Clintons or the Clinton Foundation. An HSBC press release explained that Comey had received the appointment because of “experience and expertise (he) gained from public and private sector roles at the highest level.”
So, while it’s true that Comey has had business relationships with two entities that have worked with the Clinton Foundation — there’s no indication that Comey received any money from the Clinton Foundation, or that he was awarded those positions because of his relationship with the Clintons. That’s why we’re calling this one “unproven.”