The 2016 US Presidential election shook the world with its unmeasurably shocking result. Some of you might have found it difficult to sleep that night, while some, perhaps, all these four years. The question now is whether there’s a need for reliving a moment that the vast majority want to forget like it never happened? The truth is, we need and must, if we want to learn from it. To be frank, one half would be pleased to go through the historic year all over again because it delivered not just a major defeat, but victory too.
Showtime never disappoints. In fact, its content or political TV shows are much better than HBO’s. “The Comey Rule” follows a former BI director, James Comey, and how he began the investigation of then-candidate Hillary Clinton’s private emails, his way of handling the investigation, and the rule of law he followed. He did not realize that he is about to deliver the biggest gift to Donald Trump that would potentially turn away most voters from Hillary Clinton if he announces the reopening of investigation on her while keeping secret the most damning facts about Trump himself.
The four-episode saga begins with a proud Comey (impeccable Jedd Daniels) who is about to get another ten-year term under the Obama administration. He strictly agrees with President Obama that the White House should never cross paths with the FBI, while the same cannot be said with the president-elect Trump, whose first demand was complete loyalty. As the first episode is yet to deliver the mind-boggling election result, Comey struggles with his decision as he wrestles the opportunity as FBI director to keep transparency and honesty with the American people. But what will be proven soon is that sometimes it`s better to be patient and bipartisan rather than making a decision that will cause a whole nation to embark into an unknown journey.
Written and directed by Billy Ray, the mini-series is everything you will be needing to watch on the eve of the US 2020 Presidential election, no matter what side of the political spectrum you belong to. This show won’t help the undecided voter to make up its mind, but rather focuses on Comey only, his family, a very supportive and self-aware wife, superbly portrayed by Jennifer Ehle, his four daughters, the decision he made and how this impacted not only him but the entire nation. Holly Hunter is mesmerizing as Sally Yates, the woman that had the courage to stand against corruption and for calling out Michael Flynn.
“The Comey Rule” is a superbly written mini-series that is full of catchy phrases but one of them said by Trisha Richardson, “a selective truth”, is indeed what really happened to the greatest nation on earth. When it failed to process the received intelligence properly, investigate the matter, and somehow treated deleted emails of one individual as high risk but said nothing to the public about another presidential candidate, who might be a Russian asset. The stark contrast between the two, Comey, FBI, DOJ and the entire situation is what leads the narrative of “The Comey Rule”, where the truth and lie are treated equally and used only when it serves greater service, sadly, not in a good way.