The Newsweek story I linked to yesterday began with an interesting note about James Comey's farewell address when he left the #2 slot at the Justice Department:

Comey's farewell speech, delivered in the Great Hall of the Justice Department, contained all the predictable, if heartfelt, appreciations. But mixed in among the platitudes was an unusual passage. Comey thanked "people who came to my office, or my home, or called my cell phone late at night, to quietly tell me when I was about to make a mistake; they were the people committed to getting it right—and to doing the right thing—whatever the price. These people," said Comey, "know who they are. Some of them did pay a price for their commitment to right, but they wouldn't have it any other way."

  The Newsweek report suggests that this unusual passage was a shout-out to others who opposed hardliners within the Bush Administration. I googled around to see if Comey made any more public statements around the same time that might contain additional hints. I came across one story, an August 8th 2005 Washington Post piece on Comey's decision to accept a position as Lockheed Martin's General Counsel. It's hard to tell whether Comey's statements to the Post were intended as another subtle dig or were unrelated to his DOJ experience, but I thought I would at least point them out:

  Comey said in an interview that he chose Lockheed from among a number of opportunities partly because of the company's clean reputation. . . . .
  "[Joining Lockheed Martin] strikes me as a logical extension of what I do now, which is help provide legal advice and manage a huge entity," Comey said. "I like what they do, I like their values and I like their leadership. They are a company focused on compliance."

(emphasis added).

  Was this just the generic reaction of a career prosecutor to a new private sector job? Or was it in part a subtle dig at some inside the Administration? I don't know. Still, it's an interesting possibility.