Below is my column in Fox.com on the recent public account by former FBI Director James Comey on how he sang Beyoncé’s “Sandcastles” to FBI officials in a classified briefing. If true, the story shows another instance where Comey appears to have disregarded security protocols for personal reasons. Comey, who found Hillary Clinton was “extremely careless” in handling classified and sensitive information appears to have a musical exception for sharing code names. It appears that it cannot be classified if it is karaoke.
Here is the column:
Former FBI Director James Comey has been called many things by critics and fans alike. However, it appears that his stab at being a pop singer did not pan out. Comey recently raised eyebrows with an account of his singing Beyoncé’s “Sandcastles” to FBI officials in a classified briefing … only to be met by a stony silence.
It appears that some of his agents may have viewed the occasion as grounds for intervention rather than for rendition. In fairness to the agents, they were likely unaware of Comey’s use of beaches to uncover hidden intelligence and messages.
Comey has periodically popped up in the press with bizarre or self-edifying posts. However, this one left many scratching their heads. Yet, it was vintage Comey, including a surprising admission about his handling of classified information.
Comey recalled the moment from a classified FBI briefing when he realized that a secret program being discussed was named after a favorite song. He wrote:
“One morning, I was sitting at the head of a big table in a crowded room to get briefed on a particular piece of work. The briefer started by saying, the operation was codenamed ‘Sandcastles.’ Now, this was 2016, and you may know that Beyoncé’s album ‘Lemonade’ had come out with a track called ‘Sandcastles.’ So, I said, ‘Oh, like the Beyoncé song.’ Blank stares all around the FBI conference room. So, I did the natural thing. I think I sang, ‘We rebuild sand castles that washed away.’ Nope, nothing — dead silence. ‘Never mind,’ I said, ‘continue.’ Only when I got home and told my family the story did I get the reaction I was looking for. When I write, I listen to classical or jazz because, in ways I can’t explain, the music unlocks something. It frees me.”
It also apparently freed Comey from security protocols. His charming story included the fact that, disappointed by his audience at the FBI, he decided to repeat it to his family. In doing so, he may have revealed the code name of a classified FBI program to uncleared individuals in an unsecured location. There is no indication from Comey whether the code name was considered sensitive information by the FBI before his encore performance.
The Justice Department has fought in court to withhold code names as sensitive national security matters, including during Comey’s tenure as director.
For example, in N.Y. Times v. DOJ, 2023, it was uncontested that the FBI could withhold code names because “specific code names that [the] FBI used for certain FBI programs and that disclosure of these things ‘would risk circumvention of the law by revealing FBI processes and potential issues related to relationships with foreign countries.’”
This is not the first time Comey has raised concerns of his violation of FBI protocols and procedures regarding classified material. The Justice Department inspector general issued a scathing account of how, after being fired by President Donald Trump, Comey improperly removed FBI files and then arranged for the information to be leaked to the media to undermine Trump.
The media immediately came to his defense despite his having led investigations into leakers in the past. On CNN and MSNBC, legal experts dismissed the arguments that this was improper or FBI material.
The memos clearly reveal that Comey was likely aware they contained possible classified information. Comey wrote in a Jan. 7, 2017, memo that “I am not sure of the proper classification, so I have chosen secret.” The four memos, including two given to his friend to leak to the media, were later found to be classified.
What was notable about the leaks was Comey’s obsession with his own public persona. He took FBI material to bolster his image with the media. He later published “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership,” which portrayed him in heroic terms without addressing allegations that he was a leaker. During his term as director, the Justice Department investigated and prosecuted FBI personnel for leaks. The “higher loyalty” shown by Comey often seemed to be his blind loyalty to his own image.
Comey has previously recounted his obsession with Taylor Swift as well as Beyoncé, but insists that “I can’t explain, the music unlocks something. It frees me.”
Given his history of leaks and other violations, it may be time to try a new musical genre. It appears that pop is a bit too liberating for James Comey.
In the meantime, Comey may be misinterpreting tears of joy rather than regret when he made it to the line from “Sandcastles”: “I made you cry when I walked away.”
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
18 U.S. Code § 17 – Insanity defense
(a) Affirmative Defense.—It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under any Federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts. Mental disease or defect does not otherwise constitute a defense.
(b) Burden of Proof.—The defendant has the burden of proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence.
As are likely far too many on the modern left, I suspect Comey IS a legitimate narcissist, if not a sociopath. His willingness to lie repeatedly and often are all you need to know. Trust him and his ilk as far as you can throw them with your pinky finger. It makes, ‘I didn’t inhale.’, sound like Shakespeare, and it IS the modern left, from top to bottom. It will be a pain, yes, but do your research and vote very, very wisely in November, wherever you are. The modern left must not be let anywhere near levers of power again until they fumigate.
While I am not a fan of James Comey, I can sympathize with him in this instance. There is nothing worse than seeing something humorous and then having ones joke fall so flat in a room that it requires an explanation which the listeners still don’t comprehend. Unfortunately, I have experienced that more often than I care to admit. I suspect that my listeners were certain that I had more than a few neurons loose in my brain cavity – admittedly with some justification.
To be fair, Comey would not be the first FBI Director to have a fetish for wearing dresses :).
Just kidding.
Another greatest hit for Comey’s playlist: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h3h–K5928M
Oh Jonathan, Aren’t We supposed to have forgotten about: Comey, Brennan, Wray, Garland, Smith … THE LIST, after a tick slathering of; Epstein Sexual escapades, Ukrainian War, and Iran and Lebanon. I guess Time-will-Tell after the Statutes-of-Limitations have passed, but then again maybe not if the National Archives boxes it all up and puts it into cold storage.
“Reports: Comey subpoenaed in DOJ’s ‘grand conspiracy’ probe against slate of Trump’s enemies”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey as part of a “grand conspiracy” probe into an expansive list of President Donald Trump’s political enemies, multiple media outlets reported.
The investigation, which is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, appears to be targeting former intelligence and law enforcement officials who allegedly conspired to prevent Trump from exercising his constitutional and federal rights starting from his election in 2016 through his federal indictments in 2023.
By: Jacob Knutson ~ March 19, 2026
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/justice-departmeny-comey-subpoena-trump-grand-conspiracy-probe/
If comey listens to beyonce then he is definitely way in over his paygrade at this point. I would never admit to anyone that I listened to that fake b*tch.
@whimsicalmama
I suspect he doesn’t even do that. Beyoncé is an easy and obvious answer; 40 years ago it would have been Whitney Houston or whatever else was popular on the radio, he is a termite, and an obvious one.
It is no different than the virtue signalers of recent years who made a point of saying they have pictures of MLK or Muhammad Ali hanging in their homes (and why? I have pictures of people I actually know hanging in my home because I am not a hero worshiping teenager and do not have to pass purity tests when I invite people over. And unlike Comey, I actually have black friends. My wife is a naturalized citizen from another country. He and anyone like him can bite me).
We may be in a post-truth era overall, but the modern left might as well be made of cardboard they are so fake. There is an Islamist regime that has had a choke hold on large regions of the planet that recently tried to pull the same trick. Just sayin’. If Comey were in prison, even the other inmates would find him insane, disingenuous, and insufferable.
Unfortunately, this appears to be who the modern left gleefully recruit in 2026, across the board. There is not an honest bone remaining in the body of the DNC. They know people hate them and their policies, if they had a fair run they’d lose bigly; so they must preserve their web of falsehood and all of its manifestations.
” If Comey were in prison, even the other inmates would find him insane, disingenuous, and insufferable.”
If Comey were in prison, he would be somebody’s byatch in less than 36 hours, and likely dead in a week.
Oh, how sweet, just like the general America is now?
Comey was probably a highly intelligent person. He’s gone mad. It’s difficult to embrace the transformed America.
His kids are keeping his condition secret. On a day like today Comey passed the time away writing love letters in the sand to himself. Trump laughed when Comey cried each time he saw the tide wash his love letters to himself from the sand.
The account by Comey reveals the blase’ attitude to the handling of classified material by almost everyone in the federal government and national media – until they were looking for a basis for prosecuting Trump. Then “mishandling” of classified material, even by a former President and even in a secure compound, became a matter of national security, sufficient to threaten someone with the loss of the balance of his life. Leftists are such nice people.
I left a message (nothing foul) for James Comey inside a nice conch shell. While strolling on his regular “beach walk” looking for special shells that might have political messages, I hope he sees mine and holds it up to his ear.
Then I hope he goes home and tells his family all about it.
Come On Man – all these high level Bureaucraps always get loose, stupid, and careless as they reach the end of their careers. They know the system protects them NO MATTER WHAT. The DEEP BLUE Black Robe Illuminati will NEVER let the elite members of the Dem Cabal be held accountable for ANYTHING EVER! The Dems were smart enough to backfill the system with loyalists that can derail any and all efforts to take action. Just the way it is!
I am certainly NOT a fan of Jim Comey a/k/a Reinhold Niebuhr, but this seems petty in light of his other crimes and conspiracies. If we started to prosecute every Executive Branch member who has ever discussed classified info outside of an official SCIF, our leadership ranks would look like today’s Iran. Comey conspired to bring down our government and did so for political and personal reasons. If we cannot find evidence of that, “America Has a Problem.” (PS: that’s another one of Beyonce’s songs)
Given the way in which the present Congress is constituted, and what we are seeing in ‘the streets’ these ‘daze’, there appears to be both a lack of caring and full support for the machinations of Comey and his minions prior to and long after the election of DJT in 2016. Wonder what Ben Franklin’s thoughts might be regarding our ability to keep our Constitutional Republic. The midterms will tell us more.
Wait, so Beyonce sends the secret intelligence via coded lyrics AND the beach debris is the next mission instructions?
Okay Mr. comey, these nice men in white suits are here to bring you back to “headquarters”. We have a nice puzzle we need you to solve, you like puzzles don’t you Mr. Comey?
Oh, no, we got rid of that lobby photo of Hillar….that woman. She can’t hurt you anymore Mr Comey.
This incompetent lunatic shouldn’t have been trusted with a floor sweeping job without close supervision, let alone a position where he had a direct and significant effect on the conduct of Fedgov, and a completely unjustifiable influence over the outcome of elections. Frankly, that is not only on Comey, as despicable and ridiculous as he is, it is on the sprawling, nebulous, ever-expanding, extra-constitutional reach of the government itself. Until and unless that is forced to change, we are doomed.
I’m guessing the HAVE to put the useful idiots SOMEWHERE, and they get loose, and become not so useful.
Sufficient close supervision might be available in one of those groups you see of inmates picking up trash on the side of the road.
They get pretty good supervision and Comey could be ‘director of litter pickup’.
There would appear to be something askew in Mr. Comey’s head. Not likely that you will pick it up on an MRI, CT or even an EEG. Seems to be narcissism in its most advanced stage or maybe something even more bizarre. I can imagine how something like that would go over in a Board meeting or if a physician startied singing in a section or dept meeting or while ministering to patients.
This is truly bizarre and it seems he has no problem with thinking it is, somehow, normal behavior. He may need an intervention. Could be a lot more than narcissism. But then again it is in Washington D.C. That alone might explain it.
Concerning as Comey said the music unlocks something–I feel free. He launched into song? Speaks of brainwashing or Manchurian candidate. He was triggered by the word sandcastles. At least it was just singing in a meeting.
Shells on beaches and code- poor guy. Medical
Comey has revealed himself as a total clown – the full Monty for VIPs.. YouTube commentaries, seashells on the beach, and now singing for his bigshots. How ever was he appointed director of the FBI? But it’s glorious. He has undressed in public.
“He has undressed in public.”
That may be, but I have little doubt that he believes he remains fully clothed, in garments of royalty.
Comey is a pompous disgrace to the badge and to law enforcement officers everywhere. He and his cronies put their political views ahead of respecting the rights of every American–including one with whom Comey had a personal disagreement–in their illegal efforts to prevent Trump from winning election in 2016, and to weaken his presidency with a Clinton-manufactured Russian-collusion scandal. Everyone who knew that the story was fed into the press and American intelligence community by the Clinton campaign needs to be held to account for their attempted coup d’etat.
Disgrace huh? J. Edgar Hoover ring a bell?
In a way, Comey is like Hoover. Lots of secrets.
Don’t forget his crime fiction series where he tells all of America’s dirty secrets in a novel form.
Heard it big reading in Moscow.
“ahead of respecting the rights of every American”
“Ahead?” Respecting out rights was totally absent for his (and their) priority list.
Set the names to one side for a moment. Forget Comey, Trump, Clinton, 2016, and “Sandcastles.” Just look at the conduct.
You have a senior law enforcement official with access to highly sensitive operations. He has a history of walking off with internal memos and getting their contents into the press in ways that help his own public image. He talks about those episodes as if he alone is the voice of conscience. He also admits he treats classified briefings as a place to perform and express himself.
In one of those briefings, he hears that an active program has a codename that matches a pop song he likes. In that classified setting, he starts singing a line from the song to the room. Later, when he does not get the reaction he wanted, he goes home and retells the story to his family. He includes the codename from the classified briefing while he is in an unsecured setting, with people who are not part of the operation and have no need to know.
Now stop there and ask how that lands.
If you did not know the name or the year, would you say this official seems careful and trustworthy with the public’s business? Or would you say he looks self‑important, careless with sensitive information, and at a minimum someone who ought to be formally investigated? If the rules on classified material are supposed to mean anything, would you say this conduct should be taken seriously?
Only after you answer that for yourself, put the real names and dates back in. If your view of the conduct changes sharply once you know who the official is, that tells you whether you are judging the behavior or defending the jersey.
Olly, opps should I say Lurker, is there a point somewhere in all that gibberish?
You can respond by using your Lurker account.
Dustoff, you’re welcome to join in. We’re counting on you boy.
Olly’s comment is a perfectly coherent response to Turley’s post: 1) Assume the scenario Turley presented; 2) Pretend you do not know it is Comey who as Director of the FBI begins singing lyrics from a pop song in a classified briefing – only to confess he began singing them to presumed family members after he got home that night; 3) then gauge how you respond.
Point 1. Labeling Olly’s comment gibberish demonstrates you are not a serious person. You are a troll. A hack.
Point 2. That you can’t comprehend the idea that Olly has clearly and coherently expressed demonstrates an extreme lack of intellectual heft we commonly associate with imbeciles and morons. No offense.
I find it strange that Olly has to comment anonymously to justify his above comment and then add insults. Shows his true – boor (defined: A rude ill-bred person; one who is clownish in manners). But hey, that’s the Olly we all know and mock.
So Olly solved the DC puzzle Americans have been asking, what was Comey really up to those secret meetings? And, was he having an affair with Beyoncé? Well, no thansk to Olly, we’re still in the dark. Stay tuned folks for Olly’s next anonymous contribution. Thank you Olly.
Thank you. I’ve burrowed my way so deep inside this guys head, he’s seeing me in his sleep.
OLLY,
Well said.
No kidding he was met with stony silence. I would of been thinking,
“This guy is in charge?”
Or,
“Putz!”
😉 We’ve all likely had a boss like that at one time or another.
One time I was in court, the clerk called a case, attorneys came forward, the judge invited the plaintiff’s to go ahead, but he didn’t get far before the judge cut him off, saying, “I read your brief.”
Yeah, I read Prof. Turley’s account. Comey didn’t have “a history of walking off” until he actually walked off, which was after the meeting in question. I’ve attended many meetings about projects with codenames, and there are many jokes and ironies encoded within. Pres. Lincoln told plenty of jokes, but no one claims he was unserious.
I think Prof. Turley’s point is well-taken. If the FBI says codenames are secret, he shouldn’t have told the story outside work.
Yes sir. It demonstrates where he sees himself within (above) the hierarchy.
Well said Olly. As a career law enforcement officer (30 years with the Feds and 20 years with the state), Comey’s conduct illustrates an ego that is completely off the charts and shows what happens when you start believing your own press releases. Greg
Absolutely Greg. Not quite the role model needed in such a serious position. Not just to his subordinates, but look what is he demonstrating to his children.
So now do Trump.
Do you have any proof?
Dad, please don’t start this up again today! It is early in the morning and already you are in the basement frantically typing away.
C’mon, Dad, the family leave time is exhausted. You have to go back to work.
Now do dustoff. LOL.
Ok, here “do you have any proof”.