Taking the Catholic Pulse
Sign In
    • Elise Ann Allen
    • Christopher R. Altieri
    • Deirdre Brennan
    • Eduardo Campos Lima
    • Nirmala Carvalho
    • Ngala Killian Chimtom
    • Charles Collins
    • Paterno R. Esmaquel II
    • Fionn Shiner
    • Stephan Uttom Rozario
    • Vatican
    • U.S.
    • UK and Ireland
    • Middle East
    • Americas
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Oceania
    • Interviews
    • News Analysis
    • Videos
    • Podcast
    • Last Week in the Church
  • Support Us
  • About Us
    • Contact Details
    • Advertising

  

    

       

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Crux
© 2026 Crux Now Media, LLC
Privacy & Cookie Policy
  • About Crux
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising
  • Videos
  • Support Us
  • FAQs
Podcast:
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Podcast Index
  • Amazon Music
  • Google Podcasts
  • TuneIn

Crux’s Newsletters

Today's top stories delivered straight into your inbox.

Comey, Trump and this ‘meddlesome priest’

By Jessica Estepa
Jun 11, 2017
|Religion News Service
Share
Comey, Trump and this ‘meddlesome priest’

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 8, 2017. (Credit: Photo courtesy of Reuters/Jonathan Ernst.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – James Comey likened President Trump’s suggestion to drop the Michael Flynn investigation to an English monarch’s indirect order to kill the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, asked whether Comey interpreted certain phrases  from the president of the United States, such as “I hope” or “I suggest,” as directives.
“Yes. It kind of rings in my ears as, ‘Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?’” Comey replied.

“Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest” #Comey again questioned about his interpretation of ‘hope’ as a directive. pic.twitter.com/VnrH4u9Wly

— ABC News (@abcnews) June 8, 2017

Comey was quoting a well-known saying from Henry II. Back in 1170, the king of England was years into a quarrel with Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over the rights of the church. Henry II is often quoted as saying, “Will no one rid of me of this turbulent priest?” His men interpreted this as the king wanting Becket dead. Soon after, Becket was assassinated.
Becket was later venerated as a saint:

Thomas Becket went on to become a saint, FYI.

— Carlos Lozada (@CarlosLozadaWP) June 8, 2017

(Estepa writes for USA Today)

Share

Latest Stories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Stories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Popular

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Keep Crux Independent

Crux. Anytime. Anywhere.

Today's top stories delivered straight into your inbox.

A woman and child kneel during Catholic Mass at Benedictine College, Oct. 29, 2023, in Atchison, Kan. (Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP.)

Religion data expert: Easter convert numbers are ‘drop in the bucket’

  • May 15
  • Crux Now Staff
Siena Heights University will close after the 2025–2026 academic year. (Credit: Siena Heights University.)

Money woes close a small Michigan Catholic college. It’s not alone

  • May 15
  • Janelle D. James/ Bridge Michigan
Pope Leo XVI at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, on May 14, 2025. (Credit: Vatican Media.)

Pope Leo tells students at Europe’s largest university to battle anxiety in today’s world

  • May 14
  • Crux Now Staff
President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2025. (Credit: Evan Vucci/AP.)

Trump administration will join a prayer gathering criticized for promoting Christian nationalism

  • May 14
  • Peter Smith
Comey, Trump and this ‘meddlesome priest’ | Crux
Latest
Irish parliament defeats bill seeking to remove abortion waiting period
The parliamentary building in the Republic of Ireland. (Credit: Wikimedia.)

Irish parliament defeats bill seeking to remove abortion waiting period

  • May 16
  • Fionn Shiner
Police walk behind a cordon-offed area inside the Philippine Senate premises in Parsay City on May `14, 2026. (Credit: Gerard Carreon/AP.)

Filipino bishops condemn violence after Senate shooting incident

  • May 16
  • Paterno R. Esmaquel II
Democratic advocate Jimmy Lai leaves Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal on Feb. 1, 2021. (Credit: Vincent Yu/AP.)

Trump says Xi is considering a detained pastor’s case, but freeing Catholic activist Jimmy Lai is ‘tough’

  • May 16
  • Kanis Leung, 
    Didi Tang
A woman and child kneel during Catholic Mass at Benedictine College, Oct. 29, 2023, in Atchison, Kan. (Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP.)

Religion data expert: Easter convert numbers are ‘drop in the bucket’

  • May 15
  • Crux Now Staff
A woman and child kneel during Catholic Mass at Benedictine College, Oct. 29, 2023, in Atchison, Kan. (Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP.)

Religion data expert: Easter convert numbers are ‘drop in the bucket’

  • May 15
  • Crux Now Staff
Siena Heights University will close after the 2025–2026 academic year. (Credit: Siena Heights University.)

Money woes close a small Michigan Catholic college. It’s not alone

  • May 15
  • Janelle D. James/ Bridge Michigan
President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2025. (Credit: Evan Vucci/AP.)

Trump administration will join a prayer gathering criticized for promoting Christian nationalism

  • May 14
  • Peter Smith
Father Anthony Odiong, 57, arrested on 16 July 2024. (Credit: Waco Police.)

Premium article: Questions abound as sex crimes trial looms for priest in Texas

  • May 13
  • Christopher R. Altieri