The Strange Thing Martha Stewart And Hillary Clinton Have In Common

Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart both have fame, fortune, and wield considerable influence. But even their immense power couldn't shield these famous ladies from one particularly unwelcome common denominator: James Comey. The former FBI director was fired by Donald Trump in 2017, but not before overseeing the downfalls of both the former Secretary of State and America's first female self-made billionaire. Just 11 days before the 2016 presidential election, Comey dealt Clinton a catastrophic blow by reopening the FBI investigation into her use of a private email server for official public communications. 

While Comey shortly thereafter confirmed that nothing criminal had been uncovered, the scandal disrupted Clinton's campaign during a critical moment in American history, and Trump was ultimately elected as the 45th President. As Clinton told TODAY of Comey's actions: "It stopped my momentum. It drove voters from me." Stewart, meanwhile, faced Comey's force in the early 2000s, following an investigation into insider trading. The inquest stemmed from allegations that she had sold shares of ImClone — a now-defunct biopharmaceutical company owned by her friend Sam Waksal — based on private knowledge. 

Though no evidence of illegal stock activity was found, Comey pursued charges of obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI against the homemaking icon. The high-profile case culminated in a conviction and Stewart serving five months behind bars, including a stint in solitary confinement without food or water, followed by an additional five months of house arrest.

Is James Comey's coordination of both Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart's crises just a strange coincidence? Perhaps. Though it's worth noting that both women have suggested something more sinister was at play. The former FBI director's actions leading up to the 2016 presidential election sparked widespread accusations that he was intentionally swaying the outcome. In her TODAY interview, Clinton confessed she was initially stunned at the news he was bringing the case back to life, arguing, "And then it became clear, this was not necessary. He could've called me up, he could've called others involved up and said, 'Hey, can we look at this new stuff just to make sure it's stuff we've seen before?'" 

Even Comey himself has since acknowledged some regret over his mishandling of the situation, writing in his book, "A Higher Loyalty," that, "Hindsight is always helpful, and if I had to do it over again, I would do some things differently." As for Stewart, she similarly felt personally targeted by Comey, revealing in "Martha," the 2024 Netflix documentary charting her life, "It was so horrifying to me that I had to go through that to be a trophy for these idiots in the U.S. Attorney's Office." She added, "I was a trophy. A prominent woman, the first billionaire woman in America: 'We got her!'" To both ladies, Comey seemed less a judicious scrutineer, and more a calculating disruptor of their impressive legacies.