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

  

    

       

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Quick Links

  • Currents News
  • Magisterium
  • Vulgate
  • VMR Communications
  • DeSales Media Group in the Diocese of Brooklyn

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Last Week in the Church
Last Week in the Church
Keep Crux Independent
Last Week in the Church with John Allen Jr.

Tuesdays on

Tuesdays on YouTube
Tuesdays on YouTube
  • Apple PodcastsApple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Podcast Index
  • Amazon MusicAmazon Music
  • Google PodcastsGoogle Podcasts
  • TuneIn

Crux. Anytime. Anywhere.

Today's top stories delivered straight into your inbox.

Latest
India correspondent of Crux remembers John L. Allen, Jr.
Comey, Trump and this ‘meddlesome priest’ | Crux
Nirmala Carvalho and her family with John and Elise Allen in Rome, Italy. (Credit: Nirmala Carvalho.)

India correspondent of Crux remembers John L. Allen, Jr.

  • Jan 25
  • Nirmala Carvalho
Vice President JD Vance speaks at a rally ahead of the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Credit: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP.)

Vance touts the Trump administration’s record against abortion at a Washington rally

  • Jan 24
  • Meg Kinnard
A protester holds a sign reading "Love thy neighbor - Jesus" during a rally against federal immigration enforcement on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Credit: Angelina Katsanis/AP.)

Protests inside churches are unusual despite long history of civil disobedience in the US

  • Jan 25
  • Peter Smith, 
    Tiffany Stanley, Associated Press
Residential multistory buildings are seen in the dark during large-scale power outages following Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Credit: Dan Bashakov/AP.)

Pope Leo asks for prayers for Ukraine, as it faces freeze after Russia attacks

  • Jan 25
  • Derek Gatopoulos, 
    Vasilisa Stepanenko, Associated Press
A protester holds a sign reading "Love thy neighbor - Jesus" during a rally against federal immigration enforcement on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Credit: Angelina Katsanis/AP.)

Protests inside churches are unusual despite long history of civil disobedience in the US

  • Jan 25
  • Peter Smith, 
    Tiffany Stanley, Associated Press
Vice President JD Vance speaks at a rally ahead of the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Credit: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP.)

Vance touts the Trump administration’s record against abortion at a Washington rally

  • Jan 24
  • Meg Kinnard
The National Institutes of Health’s James Shannon building is seen on the agency’s campus in Bethesda, Md., Oct. 24, 2014. (Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP.)

Trump administration halts use of human fetal tissue in NIH-funded research

  • Jan 24
  • Associated Press
Nekima Levy Armstrong holds up her fist after speaking at an anti-ICE rally for Martin Luther King Jr., Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (Credit: Angelina Katsanis/AP.)

Anti-ICE protest at Minnesota church leads to arrests but no charges for journalist Don Lemon

  • Jan 23
  • Alanna Durkin Richer, 
    Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press
Nirmala Carvalho and her family with John and Elise Allen in Rome, Italy. (Credit: Nirmala Carvalho.)

India correspondent of Crux remembers John L. Allen, Jr.

  • Jan 25
  • Nirmala Carvalho
Residential multistory buildings are seen in the dark during large-scale power outages following Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Credit: Dan Bashakov/AP.)

Pope Leo asks for prayers for Ukraine, as it faces freeze after Russia attacks

  • Jan 25
  • Derek Gatopoulos, 
    Vasilisa Stepanenko, Associated Press
A protester holds a sign reading "Love thy neighbor - Jesus" during a rally against federal immigration enforcement on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Credit: Angelina Katsanis/AP.)

Protests inside churches are unusual despite long history of civil disobedience in the US

  • Jan 25
  • Peter Smith, 
    Tiffany Stanley, Associated Press
Vice President JD Vance speaks at a rally ahead of the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Credit: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP.)

Vance touts the Trump administration’s record against abortion at a Washington rally

  • Jan 24
  • Meg Kinnard