History Series / TheComeyRule

The series is written and directed by Creator/BillyRay and stars Creator/JeffDaniels as James Comey, Creator/BrendanGleeson as Donald Trump, Creator/HollyHunter as Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, Creator/MichaelKelly as Assistant FBI Director Andrew [=McCabe=], Scoot [=McNairy=] as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Peter Coyote as Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and Kingsley Ben-Adir as UsefulNotes/BarackObama.

* {{Manchild}}: Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson likens placating Trump to giving a child a lollipop before before giving them a flu shot and says that spite motivates every decision the man makes. Trump's justifications for firing Comey are pointed out by members of his own cabinet as seeming very petty.

** [=McCabe=] allows Comey to return home in the FBI jet despite his firing since Comey was on FBI business when he was fired, it would not be deemed a misuse of bureau funds and Comey would be in potential danger if he drove in a car. Trump isn't pleased with this decision even though nothing illegal was done and he goes as far as insulting [=McCabe=]'s wife.

* UndyingLoyalty: Trump makes clear from Comey that he expects this from him and reacts extremely poorly when he learns Comey's loyalty is to the law and the bureau rather than any specific leader.

* EveryoneHasStandards: [=McCabe=] has been a Republican all has life and his voted for every Republican Presidential candidate in the past. He did not, however, vote for Trump.

** Obama and Trump are also contrasted, particularly in their behavior towards Comey. Obama is affable yet professional towards Comey despite the latter being a Republican who admits to not voting for him. Trump, on the other hand, tries to ingratiate himself to Comey with flattery and pampering, and then turns on him viciously when he thinks Comey has betrayed him.

* EveryoneHasStandards: [=McCabe=] has been a Republican all his life and his voted for every Republican Presidential candidate in the past. He did not, however, vote for Trump.
* TheFettered: Comey is portrayed this way.

** James Comey and Rod Rosenstein are contrasted throughout the miniseries. Comey has strong convictions and tries to treat everyone as fairly as possible in service to the rule of law. Rosenstein, meanwhile, is more self-serving and will put people down to ensure the continuation of his career. This becomes very stark when Comey is fired and he walks out to see a crowd of agents who've gathered to pay their respects. Intercut with this is the sight of Rosenstein walking alone and unable to make eye contact with people who glare at him with disdain.
** Obama and Trump are also contrasted, particularly in their behavior towards Comey. Obama is affable yet professional towards Comey despite the latter being a Republican who admits to not voting for him. Trump, on the other hand, tries to ingratiate himself to Comey with flattery and pampering and then turns on him viciously when he thinks Comey has betrayed him.

* {{Manchild}}: Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson likens placating Trump to giving a child a lollipop before before giving them a flu shot and says that spite motivates every decision the man makes. Trump's justifications for firing Comey are pointed out by members of his own cabinet as seeming rather petty.

* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: As stated by Jeh Johnson, Trump doesn't mind if half the country hates him but takes it very personally if one person insults him. His reasons for firing Comey as director of the FBI seem motivated by feeling personally victimized by Comey whom he thinks has betrayed his loyalty.

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: The central conflict Comey faces is having to balance following the law while doing what he knows in his heart to be the tight thing. At one point his wife Patrice begs him not to investigate Hilary because she fears it will cost her the election.

** Obama and Trump are also contrasted, particularly in their behavior towards Comey. Obama is affable yet professional towards Comey despite the latter being a Republican who admits to not voting for him. Trump, on the other hand, tries to sway Comey to his side with flattery and pampering and then turns on him viciously when he thinks Comey has betrayed him.

** Obama and Trump are also contrasted, particularly in their behavior towards Comey. Obama is affable but professional towards Comey despite the latter being a Republican and stating that he did not vote for Obama. Trump, on the other hand, tries to sway Comey to his side with flattery and pampering and then turns on him viciously when he thinks Comey has betrayed him.

* {{Manchild}}: While giving Comey advice on how to handle Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson likens placating Trump to giving a child a lollipop before before giving them a flu shot and that spite motivates every decision the man makes. His justifications for firing Comey are pointed out by members of his own cabinet as coming across as petty.

**

** Rosenstein is forced to take the blame for the decision to fire Comey even though it was entirely Trump's idea.

* TheFettered: Comey.

** Obama and Trump are also contrasted, particularly in their behavior towards Comey. Obama is professional towards Comey despite the latter being a Republican and stating that he did not vote for Obama. Trump, on the other hand, tries to sway Comey to his side with flattery and pampering and then turns on him viciously when he thinks Comey has betrayed him.

* RulesLawyer: Comey is portrayed as being dedicated to the rules and procedure of the FBI to a fault, in contrast to Trump, who will gladly ignore such norms if they get in his way.

* {{Foil}}: James Comey and Rod Rosenstein are contrasted throughout the miniseries. Comey has strong convictions and tries to treat everyone as fairly as possible in service to the rule of law. Rosenstein, meanwhile, is more self-serving and will put people down to ensure the continuation of his career. This becomes very stark when Comey is fired and he walks out to see a crowd of agents who've gathered to pay their respects. Intercut with this is the sight of Rosenstein walking alone and unable to make eye contact with people who glare at him with disdain.

* IncriminatingIndifference: In part 2, the US intel chiefs meet with the Trump Campaign to inform them of Russian agents using fake social media accounts to spread pro-Trump propaganda. After leaving the meeting, one of them notes that neither Trump nor his campaign people asked the question, "How do we keep the Russians from doing this again?".

* TheScapegoat: The series makes the argument that Hilary didn't run her campaign the best way she could have despite being more qualified for the job than Trump. Despite this, we see people blaming Comey for costing her the election. Part 2 opens with Youtube artist Jonathan Mann's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=246FRQua5XA&ab_channel=JonathanMann "Fuck You James Comey"]] song and two people at the Women's March blame Comey for Hilary losing the election.

* SomebodyDoesntLikeRaymond: As stated by Jeh Johnson, Trump doesn't mind if half the country hates him but takes it very personally if one person insults him. His reasons for firing Comey as director of the FBI seem motivated by feeling personally victimized by Comey whom he thinks has betrayed his loyalty.

* {{Manchild}}: While giving Comey advice on how to handle Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson likens placating Trump to giving a child a lollipop before before giving them a flu shot and tells him that spite motivates every decision the man makes.

* {{Manchild}}: While giving Comey advice on how to handle Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson likens it to giving a child a lollipop before before giving them a flu shot.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: Averted. Showtime initially planned to air the miniseries in late November, but after a public backlash from Billy Ray and several cast members, decided instead air it before the 2020 Presidential election.

* AwesomeAussie: Alexander Downer, the Australian diplomat who drinks with Papadopoulos, speaks with a distinctly ocker accent. In reality the former foreign minister had a more plummy register.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I expect loyalty"'']]

''The Comey Rule'' is a 2-part MiniSeries about the 2016 Presidential Election, specifically focused on former FBI Director James Comey and his role in countering foreign interference in the election, investigating UsefulNotes/HillaryClinton's use of a private email server as Secretary of State, possible ties between Russia and the campaign of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, and navigating the political fallout following the latter's election. The show is based on Comey's memoir ''A Higher Loyalty''.