A Thursday report from the New York Times details all the ways that the former FBI director, James Comey, tried to maintain a professional distance from Donald Trump. One strategy was camouflage.
Comey was later fired by Trump, and reports that Trump may have pressured him to drop an investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn preceded the appointment of a special prosecutor into the Trump-Russia case.
But before he was canned, Comey's worst nightmare was appearing too "friendly" with the president. According to a friend of Comey's, Benjamin Wittes, one of his tactics to avoid the president's affection included actually hiding himself in the curtains at the White House.
Here's an anecdote from a "ceremony to honor law enforcement" hosted by Mr. Trump, that Mr. Comey reluctantly attended. Via the New York Times:
The ceremony occurred in the Blue Room of the White House, where many senior law enforcement officials — including the Secret Service director — had gathered. Mr. Comey — who is 6 feet 8 inches tall and was wearing a dark blue suit that day – told Mr. Wittes that he tried to blend in with the blue curtains in the back of the room, in the hopes that Mr. Trump would not spot him and call him out.
It didn't work. Although Comey avoided hugging Trump, according to HuffPo, the president "appeared to blow him a kiss." And now that Twitter's gotten wind of Comey's failed curtains strategy, it's even more humiliating.
James Comey: master of disguise.