Errol Louis is the host of "Inside City Hall," a nightly political show on NY1, a New York all-news channel. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN) James Comey's CNN Town Hall appearance at William & Mary University Wednesday shed little new light on his tense, private discussions with the President. Nor did it elicit definitive, explosive sound bites to suggest Trump might be compromised by the Russians.

But the deeper message of James Comey's whirlwind media tour came into clearer focus in his sit-down with Anderson Cooper, as the former FBI director hammered home why it's important to protect the Justice Department from increasingly sharp attacks by President Donald Trump.

Trump has assailed his own Justice Department, the FBI, and the people who run them -- even some of the leaders he has hired. "They view the institution of justice with contempt," Comey said of the administration, telling the crowd that top leaders view it as just another piece on the chessboard of power that can be knocked over when it's unneeded or in the way. "That is a terrible place for us to be as a country."

Comey has emerged as a rare, clear-headed adult in a nation full of partisan voices looking to cast blame anywhere except their own Democratic or Republican doorsteps. That became clear when Comey was pressed several times by audience members and by Cooper on why he didn't give a blunt "no can do" refusal to Trump when the President ushered everyone out of the room and asked the FBI director to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn.

"I get the feedback..." Comey finally responded on why he didn't bluntly cut off the man with the nuclear codes, while sitting alone with him in the room that embodies the President's awesome power. "But I don't know if that's fair."

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