A Higher Loyalty

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership is a book by James Comey, the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), discussing ethics and leadership Comey encountered throughout his life, his career in public office, and his relationship with President Donald Trump, who fired him in May 2017. It was published by Macmillan Publishers' Flatiron Books on April 17, 2018. Background After James Comey was fired as Director of the FBI by Donald Trump, he began to write an autobiography. Several publishers submitted bids in an auction conducted by literary agency Javelin to secure the rights to the book. By August 2017, Macmillan Publishers' Flatiron Books announced that it had acquired the rights to Comey's autobiography, and set a release for spring 2018. The announcement stated the book would be discussing ethics, leadership, and Comey's experience in government. In November 2017, the title of the book was revealed to be A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership with a release date of May 1, 2018. The title references how Trump insisted on Comey's personal "loyalty" regarding the criminal investigation into Michael Flynn in a private meeting in January 2017, and how Comey relies more on a "higher loyalty" to lasting values such as justice and truth. The release date was moved up to April 17 because of scrutiny faced by the FBI during the Special Counsel investigation. On March 19, A Higher Loyalty had become the top-selling book on Amazon. It was overtaken the next day by A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, then returned to the top-selling rank on Amazon shortly before the release date, after receiving significant media coverage. Release A week after the book's initial release, sales topped 600,000 copies when including print, audiobooks, and e-books.