Comey was born in Yonkers, New York, where his parents, Joan Marie Comey (nee Herald) and J. Brien Comey, lived. His grandfather, William J. Comey, was an officer and later commissioner of the Yonkers Police Department. The family moved to Allendale, New Jersey, in the early 1970s. His father worked in corporate real estate and his mother was a computer consultant and homemaker.

In early January 2006, The New York Times, as part of its investigation into domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency, reported that Comey, who was Acting Attorney General during the March 2004 hospitalization of John Ashcroft, refused to certify the legality of central aspects of the NSA program. The certification was required under White House procedures in order for the program to continue.  In March 2004, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert S. Mueller III and Comey threatened the Bush administration with their resignations if the White House overruled the DOJ finding that the domestic wiretapping under the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) was unconstitutional, if such were done without a court warrant. On March 10, 2004, United States Attorney General (USAG) John Ashcroft was being visited by his wife as he was treated in the intensive care unit at the George Washington University Hospital. She solicited Mueller and Comey to join them, and shortly after their arrival, they were joined by Jack Goldsmith of the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel and Patrick Philbrin. In Goldsmith's 2007 memoir, he said Comey had come to the hospital to give Ashcroft support in withstanding pressure from the White House. None of the four visitors wanted the TSP reauthorized. After the quartet's arrival, Ashcroft refused to give his consent to its extension, despite being pressured at the hospital soon afterward by Andrew H. Card Jr., White House Chief of Staff, and Alberto R. Gonzales, then-White House counsel and future Attorney General. The two were requesting that Ashcroft waive the DOJ ruling and permit the domestic warrantless eavesdropping program to continue beyond its imminent expiration date. Ashcroft additionally informed the pair that due to his illness, he had delegated his powers as USAG to Comey. Comey later confirmed these events took place (but declined to confirm the specific program) in testimony to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on May 16, 2007. FBI director Mueller's notes on the March 10, 2004, incident, which were released to a House Judiciary committee, confirms that he "Saw (the) AG, John Ashcroft in the room (who was) feeble, barely articulate, clearly stressed."  Comey and Mueller withdrew their threats to resign after meeting directly on March 12, 2004, with President Bush, who gave his support to making requisite changes in the surveillance program. CANNOTANSWER

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What did Mueller think of the wiretapping?
Comey föddes i Yonkers, New York, där hans föräldrar, Joan Marie Comey (nee Herald) och J. Brien Comey, bodde. Hans farfar, William J. Comey, var officer och senare kommissarie för Yonkerspolisen. Familjen flyttade till Allendale i New Jersey i början av 1970-talet. Hans far arbetade inom företagsfastigheter och hans mor var datakonsult och hemskapare. I början av januari 2006 rapporterade The New York Times, som en del av sin utredning om inhemsk övervakning av National Security Agency, att Comey, som var tillförordnad justitieminister under sjukhusvistelsen i mars 2004 av John Ashcroft, vägrade att intyga lagligheten av centrala aspekter av NSA-programmet. Certifieringen krävdes enligt Vita husets förfaranden för att programmet skulle kunna fortsätta. I mars 2004 hotade Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert S. Mueller III och Comey Bush-administrationen med sina avgångar om Vita huset upphävde DOJ:s konstaterande att den inhemska avlyssningen under Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) var grundlagsstridig, om sådana gjordes utan domstolsprövning. Den 10 mars 2004 besöktes United States Attorney General (USAG) John Ashcroft av sin fru då han behandlades på intensivvårdsavdelningen vid George Washington University Hospital. Hon bad Mueller och Comey att ansluta sig till dem, och strax efter deras ankomst fick de sällskap av Jack Goldsmith från justitiedepartementets advokatbyrå och Patrick Philbrin. I Goldsmiths memoarer från 2007 sade han att Comey hade kommit till sjukhuset för att ge Ashcroft stöd i att stå emot påtryckningar från Vita huset. Ingen av de fyra besökarna ville att TSP skulle bli auktoriserat. Efter kvartettens ankomst vägrade Ashcroft att ge sitt samtycke till dess förlängning, trots att han pressades på sjukhuset strax efteråt av Andrew H. Card Jr., Vita husets stabschef, och Alberto R. Gonzales, då-White House-jurist och blivande justitieråd. De två begärde att Ashcroft skulle avstå från justitiedepartementets dom och tillåta att det inhemska avlyssningsprogrammet fortsätter efter dess nära förestående utgångsdatum. Ashcroft informerade dessutom paret om att han på grund av sin sjukdom hade delegerat sina befogenheter som USAG till Comey. Comey bekräftade senare dessa händelser ägde rum (men avböjde att bekräfta det specifika programmet) i vittnesmål inför USA:s senaträttskommitté den 16 maj 2007. FBI-chefen Muellers anteckningar om incidenten den 10 mars 2004, som släpptes till en House Judiciary-kommitté, bekräftar att han "Saw (the) AG, John Ashcroft in the room (who was) vek, knappt artikulerad, tydligt betonad." Comey och Mueller drog tillbaka sina hot om att avgå efter att ha träffat direkt den 12 mars 2004, med president Bush, som gav sitt stöd till att göra nödvändiga förändringar i övervakningsprogrammet. CANNOTANSWER Ställ en fråga om den här artikeln.
Comey was born in Yonkers, New York, where his parents, Joan Marie Comey (nee Herald) and J. Brien Comey, lived. His grandfather, William J. Comey, was an officer and later commissioner of the Yonkers Police Department. The family moved to Allendale, New Jersey, in the early 1970s. His father worked in corporate properties and his mother was a data consultant and homemaker. In early January 2006, The New York Times, as part of its investigation into domestic surveillance of the National Security Agency, reported that Comey, who was acting Attorney General during his hospital stay in March 2004 by John Ashcroft, refused to attest to the legality of central aspects of the NSA program. The certification was required according to White House procedures for the program to continue. In March 2004, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert S. Mueller III and the Comey Bush administration threatened with their resignations over the White House reversed DOJ's finding that the domestic interception under the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) was unconstitutional, if made without judicial review. On March 10, 2004, United States Attorney General (USAG) John Ashcroft was visited by his wife when he was treated in the intensive care department of George Washington University Hospital. She asked Mueller and Comey to join them, and soon after their arrival they were joined by Jack Goldsmith of the Department of Justice's law firm and Patrick Philbrin. In Goldsmith's 2007 memoir, he said Comey had come to the hospital to give Ashcroft support in resisting pressure from the White House. None of the four visitors wanted the TSP to be authorized. Following the arrival of the quartet, Ashcroft refused to consent to its extension, despite being pressured at the hospital shortly afterwards by Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House Chief of Staff, and Alberto R. Gonzales, then-White House lawyer and future Attorney General. The two requested that Ashcroft waive the Justice Department's sentence and allow the domestic interception program to continue after its imminent expiration date. Ashcroft additionally informed the couple that due to his illness he had delegated his powers as USAG to Comey. Comey later confirmed these events took place (but declined to confirm the specific program) in testimony before the United States Senate Law Committee on May 16, 2007. FBI chief Mueller's notes on the March 10, 2004, incident released to a House Judiciary committee, confirm that he "Saw (the) AG, John Ashcroft in the room (who was) folded, barely articulated, clearly emphasized." Comey and Mueller withdrew their threats to resign after meeting directly on March 12, 2004, with President Bush, who supported making the necessary changes to the surveillance program. CANNOTANSWER Ask a question about this article.
Vad tyckte Mueller om avlyssningen?
What did Mueller think of the wiretap?