How James Comey became king of the subtweet with his hidden attacks on Trump

Former FBI director James Comey's latest tweet is being read as a dig at the man who fired him, President Donald Trump.

Tweeting late last night (November 29) Comey published a quote attributed to former British prime minister Winston Churchill:

For many, that is a sly attack on Comey's former boss.

Trump has made the news, yet again, after he shared vicious anti-Muslim videos on Twitter attributed to far-right group Britain First.

Trump's latest Twitter outburst is surprising even by the standards he has set since the start of his term in January.

The videos have been widely condemned by public figures including Theresa May. Some critics said the clips are factually incorrect.

Comey himself has been tweeting sporadically for the past few months, often in response to controversies contrived by the president. On November 25, Comey tweeted a 1786 Thomas Jefferson quote about the importance of a free press:

That came directly after a tweet by the POTUS which praised Fox News and derided his long-time adversary CNN.

That tweet prompted CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour and others to speak out in defence of their colleagues at the station:

Earlier this month, Comey announced he was an official user of Twitter using the @Comey handle but also confirmed that he had been using the platform anonymously for a number of years.

Reinhold Niebuhr was the name attributed to his former @Formerbu account and referenced a 20<sup>th century theologian and pastor.