James Comey

I'm grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence.

And a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking.

This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the President of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies.

I don't care what your politics are, you have to see that as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free.

I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again, and my attitude is going to be the same.

I'm innocent, I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary.

I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again.

And my attitude is going to be the same.

I'm innocent.

I am not afraid.

And I believe in an independent federal judiciary.

I'm grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence, and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking.

But I was also inspired by the example of the career people who refused to be part of this travesty.

It cost some of them their jobs, which is painful, but it preserved their integrity, which is beyond price.

And I know they will serve again.

I was very lucky that some of the best lawyers in America stepped forward to represent me.

I hope they serve as an example to more and more lawyers, especially at some of the big firms, to participate in protecting our liberty, protecting the rule of law.

When I was a kid, my parents would wake us up for school every morning by snapping open the shades and saying, time to rise and shine and show the world what you're made of.

Well, it's that time, America.

It's time to stand up and show the fools who would frighten us, who would divide us, that we're made of stronger stuff, that we believe in the rule of law, that we believe in the importance of doing things by the law.