Democrats were mad at FBI director James Comey for his (mis)handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Republicans were mad at him for his handling of the investigation into Russian influence on the presidential election. But there's a third way in which the Comey-era FBI — from September 2013 onward — screwed up. That involves the illegal leaks to the press about insider trading cases, about which I wrote here, here, here, here, and here.
Those leaks didn't necessarily affect the presidential election, though one Trump adviser, Carl Icahn, was smeared. Though the problems happened on Comey's watch, there's been no indication that he himself did anything wrong or even knew about what was happening. But the pattern of the insider trading leaks — a public relations campaign accompanied by disregard for the rule of law and the targeting of prominent individuals — pretty much matches what happened with both the emails and the Russia investigation.
I'm not opining here on Trump's decision to fire Mr. Comey or his handling of the deed. But I will say that if Trump does pick Ray Kelly, one of the names he is reportedly considering — and one I floated in a tweet back at 6:58 p.m. on May 9, before it was widely reported — it will unquestionably be a huge improvement over Mr. Comey.