So, who takes the kind of notes Comey did? [View all]

[MineralMan]

Lots of people do that, and for many reasons. As a journalist, such notes were a contract requirement at one of the magazines where I was a freelance contributing editor, for example. Whenever I had a conversation with a software company regarding a product I was reviewing, I had to take detailed notes of all conversations with corporate people and PR reps. That way, I had a record of those conversations in case they complained about anything in the published review. From time to time, those notes came in very handy.

Many people also create memos to themselves about important telephone conversations, so they're sure they remember anything that was important. I often have lengthy conversations with clients on the phone. I use a headset for such calls, and have a document open during them. I take live notes on the conversation whenever a point of fact is discussed.

In many corporations and in the military, such memos and notes are actually a requirement, and for good reasons. I suspect Comey made a habit of such note-taking, just to make sure he could accurately remember what was said. Writing it down immediately is a solid, good practice in many situations.

As for what to do with those notes, if they're really important, I email them to myself with an email header that clearly identifies them and save them on my desktop PCs hard drive. Since my emails are stored in the cloud, I have a backup that way. I imagine Comey did something similar to ensure that the notes would be available under any likely circumstance.