In late October, former FBI Director James Comey all but confirmed the mysterious “Reinhold Niebuhr” Twitter account was his with a photo of himself standing on a rural road somewhere in Iowa. Since then, the pseudonomyous social media provaceteur has subtweeted President Donald Trump, promoted his forthcoming book, and more. On Monday, however, the Obama-era appointee made his official Twitter debut with a new handle and account name and a blue checkmark — thereby officiall retiring the original “Reinhold Niebuhr” pseudonym.
“Here’s my new handle,” he wrote in his first tweet as an authenticated Twitter user. “Glad to be part of the Twitterverse. Grateful to Reinhold for the cover these last few years.”
Here’s my new handle. Glad to be part of the Twitterverse. Grateful to Reinhold for the cover these last few years.
— James Comey (@Comey) November 6, 2017
After Comey revealed the existence of a secret Twitter account in March, Ashley Feinberg — then a reporter for Gizmodo who now works for the Huffington Post — subsequently found it via the ousted FBI director’s son’s Instagram account. Since then, the Niebuhr account handle has switched from @projectexile7 to @FormerBu, but with Monday’s announcement, the new Twitter handle is simply @Comey. It now seems the 56-year-old’s post-Justice Department life is going to be quite the publicized affair (more than it already has been), and the rest of the internet seems all too excited for what lies ahead.
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/927553810167365632
https://twitter.com/polly/status/927554804548800512
https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/927554915823751168
what kind of simpsons memes do you like https://t.co/zJ3lVRe70a
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) November 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/927553425264578560
We knew.
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) November 6, 2017
Stage 1 of Twitter: What the hell is this?
Stage 2: "Glad to be part of the Twitterverse."
Stage 3: How do I escape this madhouse https://t.co/cIwVxLTcKd— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) November 6, 2017
what a difference a year makes for jimmy boy https://t.co/kr4xDf75cu
— . (@MarisaKabas) November 6, 2017
Oh man, the Reinhold Niebuhr thing was cool. https://t.co/ZfcSCSbqn7
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 6, 2017
"Reinhold Niebuhr" has come in from the cold. Lordy. https://t.co/QqU6D6YorB
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) November 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/AdamBlickstein/status/927557362398957570