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.

Comey, Trump and this ‘meddlesome priest’ | Crux
Latest
Ahead of Pope’s visit to Canary Islands, bishop warns using immigration for votes is a ‘ticking time bomb’
The Basilica of San Albino in Mesilla, New Mexico. (Credit: Wikimedia.)

Thousands of diocesan documents stolen in Diocese of Las Cruces; head of Voice of the Laity allegedly involved

  • May 11
  • Charles Collins
(Credit: Voice of the Faithful.)

Questions about the Neocatechumenal Way persist in New Mexico diocese

  • May 10
  • Charles Collins
Pope Leo XIV arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sept. 10, 2025. (Credit: Gregorio Borgia/AP.)

Card. Kikuchi on what’s coming in the Leonine pontificate

  • May 9
  • Nirmala Carvalho

Leo XIV’s ‘January’ year tells much about his governing program

  • May 10
  • Christopher R. Altieri
Migrants disembark at the port of “La Estaca” in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (Credit: Maria Ximena/AP.)

Ahead of Pope’s visit to Canary Islands, bishop warns using immigration for votes is a ‘ticking time bomb’

  • May 11
  • Fionn Shiner
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in Sydney, Australia, on May 8, 2026. (Credit: Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.)

Myanmar experiencing ‘polycrisis’ five years after military coup

  • May 11
  • Nirmala Carvalho
The country’s most prominent political clan is the family of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, with the election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the country’s 17th president in 2022. (Credit: Presidential Communications Office.)

In new signature drive, Filipino Church breaks bonds of political dynasties

  • May 11
  • Paterno R. Esmaquel II
The Basilica of San Albino in Mesilla, New Mexico. (Credit: Wikimedia.)

Premium article: Thousands of diocesan documents stolen in Diocese of Las Cruces; head of Voice of the Laity allegedly involved

  • May 11
  • Charles Collins
The Basilica of San Albino in Mesilla, New Mexico. (Credit: Wikimedia.)

Premium article: Thousands of diocesan documents stolen in Diocese of Las Cruces; head of Voice of the Laity allegedly involved

  • May 11
  • Charles Collins
(Credit: Voice of the Faithful.)

Premium article: Questions about the Neocatechumenal Way persist in New Mexico diocese

  • May 10
  • Charles Collins
The new foundation for the Fountain of Life Nazarene Church is seen in Altadena, Calif., April 26, 2026. (Credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP.)

After the Los Angeles wildfires, clergy crossed denominational lines and forged new bonds

  • May 8
  • Deepa Bharath
Members of St. Moses the Black Orthodox Church worship together during service on Nov. 9, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (Credit: Jessie Wardarski/AP.)

Worship attendance at churches up for the first time in decades, according to new report

  • May 8
  • Bob Smietana