EXCLUSIVE: Lordy! James Comey set for $10 million payday as publishers scramble to sign book deal with fired FBI chief for inside story on Hillary, Trump - and his own brush with death by a serial rapist

• e-mail

Jerry Oppenheimer covered the Justice Department and the FBI for the Washington Star. A New York Times bestselling author, his latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September.

When California Senator Kamala Harris thanked fired FBI director James Comey for testifying as a 'private citizen' in the Senate intelligence hearing into Russian interference yesterday, his response was, 'I'm between opportunities right now.'

It was a joking reference to being out of work since Presidential Trump told him, 'You're fired!'.

When Harris responded, 'I'm sure you'll have decent opportunities [in the future'], she didn't know how right she was.

Why is this man smiling? Comey's going to have the biggest D.C. golden parachute ever, says one literary agent

If the publishing world has anything to say about it,  the nation's ex-top cop, 56,  will be a multimillionaire ten times over from the book deal major publishers are offering to pay up front for his memoir – a whopping $10 million, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

It's a sum right up there with the kind of advances paid to the Clintons - although maybe not a high as the Obamas - and the kind of royalty money generated by Comey's nemesis Donald Trump's many books.

'Jim Comey's story has everything, from White House intrigue to possible corruption and law breaking. His explosive story makes 'West Wing' and 'House of Cards' on a par with Mister Rogers,' an acquisition editor for a major New York publishing house told DailyMail.com

'When his proposal hits my desk, I've already been authorized to offer $10 million.'

Not only that, but the publisher of another key player in the book world revealed that major Hollywood producers are already lining up to make the torn-from-the-headlines blockbuster movie about Comey's life and his attempt to unseat the president.

A prominent movie-TV agent told DailyMail.com: 'I know one top drawer producer who's already talking to stars to cast the Comey role. He has to be tall, good-looking and a Jimmy Stewart-John Wayne-hero type. I was mesmerized when I spent the whole day watching Comey testify.

'Comey could expect a movie deal tied into the book worth many millions of dollars more, tens of millions.'

The Washington Post called Comey's testimony a 'performance of a lifetime – Classic G-man and aggrieved victim.' And a New York Times headline billed Comey as, 'Hero, Villain and Shakespearean Character…'

Comey's seven-page testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was released late Wednesday, just hours before his appearance. 'When that document hit my desk I thought, 'I want his book.,' said another top editor whose been involved in some of the biggest New York Times nonfiction bestsellers. 

Expect him to dish on Hillary Clinton and President Trump in what promises to be a riveting memoir

'This guy can write. His story and the way he tells it is spellbinding. Ten million dollars is not an outrageous amount for his story. I ran some numbers and I could see us selling a million copies – especially if he goes way beyond what he's stated publicly,' said another

Comey had proven his writing ability as a student journalist at the College of William & Mary when, in 1980, he wrote a three-part series for the campus newspaper, The Fat Hat, about the retaining and recruitment of African-American students

According to one knowledgeable publishing insider, 'Comey will be having talks with one of Washington's top lawyer-agents, Bill Barnett, whose book clients have included Bill and Hillary, George W. Bush, Bob Woodward and even the Prince of Wales and Barbra Streisand. He will get Jim millions, maybe even more than $10 million, which is the number making the rounds.

'By being fired by The Donald, Jim Comey's going to have the biggest Washington golden parachute ever. Trump's going to make him a Hollywood celebrity, a literary lion and a multimillionaire. Trump's gonna kick himself. But he'll be a major player in both the big screen and the book story.'

And Comey can surely use the pay day. He's no longer receiving his annual salary of $172,100. And because he was fired for cause by Trump he can't receive severance pay, but can qualify for government retirement benefits.

When Comey (center) was 16, he and his younger brother, Peter, became victims of a gunman who had invaded the Comey home in suburban New Jersey, locked them in the bathroom at gunpoint, and ransacked the house

But none of that can compare to the millions he'll get for his memoir and the movie deal.

Still, Comey's far from broke. When he got the FBI job, records showed he had a net worth of $11 million, and was awaiting a $3 million payout from the hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, where he served as general counsel. He previously held a similar position with a major aerospace firm.

Comey and his brother called the police, and they helped the police artist make a sketch of the intruder. This led to the arrest of a wanted criminal known as the Ramsey Rapist, who had raped teenaged babysitters.

Aside from being out of work, he recently lost $500,000 in the sale of his home in the ritzy New York City suburb of Westport, Ct., a bastion of liberal Democrat voters, and once the home of Martha Stewart and Paul Newman. According to reports, Comey had to drop the price twice before a buyer bought it for $2.475 million last January, around the time of Trump's inauguration. In 2010, three years before he became FBI director, Comey paid $3.05 million for the seven-bedroom, more than 7,000-square foot home near Long Island Sound.

According to the publishing executives interviewed by Daily Mail, the proposed book would deal with Comey's entire life, from his New Jersey childhood up to the intrigue and drama of his Washington years, including the Hillary email fiasco and of course his dealings with Trump.

When Comey was 16 the future top law enforcement officer of the nation, and his younger brother, Peter, became victims of a gunman who had invaded the Comey home in suburban New Jersey, locked them in the bathroom at gunpoint, and ransacked the house. 

Comey and his brother called the police, and they helped the police artist make a sketch of the intruder. This led to the arrest of a wanted criminal known as the Ramsey Rapist, who had raped teenaged babysitters.

Years later, on 60 Minutes, the newly appointed FBI Director, recalled the incident.

'We escaped, he caught us again, we escaped again – so it was a pretty horrific experience. Frightening to anybody, but especially for a younger person to be threatened with a gun and to believe you're going to be killed by this guy.

'It most affects me in giving me a sense of what victims feel. Even the notion that no one was physically harmed doesn't mean no one was harmed, because I thought about that guy every night for five years…It made me a better prosecutor and investigator to feel better what victims experience.'