James Comey is an American lawyer and government official who served as the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 to 2017. He was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 and was dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017. Comey is known for his role in the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State, as well as his involvement in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. He is also known for his public statements on the investigation into Russian interference, which some have argued may have influenced the outcome of the election. Comey has also been criticized for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, which some have argued was politically motivated. Comey is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and has held various positions in the Department of Justice, including Deputy Attorney General. He is currently a visiting professor at Howard University and a senior research scholar at Columbia Law School.