Last night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Stephen spent nearly the entire episode interviewing former FBI Director James Comey in what may have been his longest, most intense interview yet.

There has been quite a bit of lead up to this interview. On Monday, during his monologue, Colbert said of Comey, “I’m gonna’ grill him. I’m gonna’ eat him alive.” After which he checked with his producer who confirmed that he would, in fact, not be grilling/eating alive James Comey. But, the interview has been hyped since last week, when Comey released his book A Higher Loyalty.

WATCH FULL EPISODE: James Comey – April 17th 

At first, there was camaraderie between Colbert and Comey – they both share a favourite pastime, which is publicly mocking President Trump.

It certainly started out all fun-and-games. Comey pointed out in his book that the day he was fired, as he flew home, he drank red wine from a paper cup and looked out over the country he loves so much. So, to make him feel more comfortable, Colbert offered Comey a paper cup of wine, which they both enjoyed for the duration of the interview.

Much of A Higher Loyalty focuses on Donald Trump, but not all of it – Comey had a long career before Trump came along, where he investigated other TV show hosts like Martha Stewart, and other bullies and mob bosses – the latter of which, Comey says, have more in common with Donald Trump than should be expected from a President.

 

So, on to the “grilling” and “eat him alive” part of the interview – the Clinton investigation. Specifically, the reopening of the Clinton investigation. More irritating and specifically still, the announcement of the reopening of the Clinton investigation a week and a half before the election. James Comey had his reasons for doing so – which he still stands by, for better or worse.

Comey later goes on to claim that he felt “sick to his stomach” that his actions could have affected the outcome of that election – but ultimately, he’s unsure if they did. The audience – who cheered excitedly when Comey came on stage (though, as Stephen pointed out, his audience for a show a year prior cheered enthusiastically when Stephen announced Comey’s firing) did not turn on Comey when the topic of Clinton came up. It got a bit quieter, but the humor was set aside for the duration of that conversation. Which is fine, because the next topic is funny no matter how many times it’s brought up.

That’s right – Comey and Colbert talked the pee tape. Not since a certain Toronto Mayor smoked a certain contraband on camera has a rumoured video tape been so sought after and discussed by the media (even though most networks wouldn’t show it due to the likely graphic nature of the tape and the ensuing headache from the FCC – but that’s what the Internet is for). Comey is probably among the highest authorities to speak to this tape, sitting up there among Trump himself, Robert Mueller, Christopher Steele, and of course Vladimir Putin. And none of them are likely to show up on The Late Show anytime soon. For better or for worse (still probably worse).

Catch more of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airing weeknights at 11.35 et/pt on Global, and watch the latest episodes online here on GlobalTV.com!