“It’s back to weaponizing attacks and accusations on McCarthyism and Communism, and calling for red horrors to silence people,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Former FBI Director James Comey responds to his indictment
Former FBI director James Comey responded to indictments from the Trump administration via Instagram and called on voters to continue their engagement.
The criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey, who came days later on behalf of longtime prosecutors who decided to seek accusations with his trusty aide, raised concerns about the Justice Department’s politicization on a hot pitch.
“That’s what we see in an authoritarian regime, something the Trump administration has done from day one to almost the first day, to use the power of criminal prosecution to punish those who feel disgusted or reward those who are positive.”
The Federal University Ju Court approved on September 25, accusing them of lying to Congress on September 25, and obstructing Congress’ lawsuit on September 30, 2020. He allegedly testified at a Congressional hearing that he did not allow the FBI to leak anonymous information about an investigation into the media. In 2017, Trump fired Comey, who was in charge of investigating contacts between the Russian government and the 2016 Trump campaign.
Just five days before the indictment, with the charges approaching and the five-year deadline approaching, Trump posted on social media that Comey was “guilty as hell” and that delays were not an option.
The post has pioneered fears that Trump’s last-minute installation of an aide with no prosecutor’s experience, Lindsay Harrigan, who quickly sought accusations against Comey, and his history of threatening political enemies with prosecution has prompted the fear that the Justice Department’s revenge-filled independence from the White House has been rushing to erode.
“This is extremely dangerous,” former George W. Bush White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter told USA Today. “We don’t have political prosecutions. That’s not a way to do things in democracy.”
Comey vowed in a video statement to protect his innocence.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal justice system,” he said in a video posted to Instagram. “I’m innocent, so let’s go to court and maintain the faith that my family and I have known for years.”
The Trump administration claims that previous administrations did the same thing.
Trump was criminally charged by the Justice Department under President Joe Biden, who allegedly conspired to steal the 2020 election, and falsely sued the misclassified documents. These cases were brought by special prosecutor Jack Smith. Jack Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to ensure the independence of the usual investigation. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election.
The president celebrated Comey’s indictment on social media as “American Justice!” Attorney General Pam Bondy posted on social media that it reflected her department’s “commitment to taking responsibility for misleading Americans by those who abuse their positions of power.”
In a statement to USA Today, the Department of Justice defended itself against accusations of politicization.
“Unlike weaponization over the past four years, the Department of Justice is focusing on prosecuting violent crimes, securing borders, taking fatal fentanyl on the streets and making America safe again.”
The White House said in a statement to USA Today that the Trump administration is providing truth to the public and restoring integrity to the judicial system.
“It is ultimate hypocrisy to blame President Trump for being active through his presidency. He is engaged in the law against his political opponents. The charges against Comey by the Great Jue speak for itself, and the Trump administration is looking forward to fair proceedings in court.
DOJ targeting Trump’s enemies
The indictment against Comey is not clear as to what statement the Congressional statement landed in Hot Spring. The Federal Ju Court decides whether to indict the prosecution after a typical one-sided process in which the prosecutor can present witnesses and evidence. The Federal Jury almost always votes to indict him. The big ju judge voted to indict Comey on two of the three proposed charges.
Comey’s indictment follows a series of statements or actions from Trump by his political appointees who targeted his critics and those who investigated him.
In August, the FBI stormed the home and office of John Bolton, the national security adviser of Trump’s first presidential administration, but since then he said he was unsuitable for his job. The raid follows Trump’s move on his first inauguration day in January to withdraw Bolton’s Secret Service protections, despite the Justice Department’s charges claiming that security officials from the Iranian Revolution were seeking a hitman to execute Bolton.
Trump’s Justice Department has also launched an investigation into whether New York Attorney General Letitia James committed a mortgage fraud. The same longtime prosecutor who decided on the charges is reportedly not justified by Eric Siebert in Comey’s case. The Justice Department also declined to comment on whether it would seek accusations against James.
Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who led the federal criminal case against Trump, is also being targeted. Trump’s appointee, led by US special advisor Jamieson Greer, led an investigation into Smith’s conduct in the Trump incident. Smith’s lawyer said in August that the investigation was “partisan” and should be removed.
Fani Willis, an Atlanta district lawyer who led the charges against Trump before she was fired for romantic relationships or travelled with another prosecutor, according to the New York Times. It said it had reviewed the federal ju judge’s subpoena seeking records of Willis’ travel history.
The Justice Department has also launched a mortgage fraud investigation into Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat of California. Adam Schiff took part in a Congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. In a September 20 social media post addressed to Bondi, Trump said Schiff, in addition to Leticia James and James Comey, is also guilty of an unspecified crime.
At her nomination hearing, several Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats raised concerns about Trump trying to direct Trump towards his will, so Bondi testified that “there will never be a list of enemies within the Department of Justice” and that “politics will not play a role in the DOJ investigation and case of her leadership.”
Trump stocks several of his former lawyers with the Justice Department. Bondi defended him as president in his first blast each trial. Harrigan represented him in a lawsuit over an investigation into the handling of the documents he was classified. He chose three of his personal criminal defense lawyers, Todd Blanche, Emile Bove and Alina Haba, for his well-known Justice Department work this year, but Bove and Haba’s roles have changed.
Trump says justice has been weaponized against him
Trump and some of his allies say they are using the Justice Department to target his enemies.
In his September 20 social media post, James, Comey and Schiff called for charges, saying, “They each twice and indicted me (five times!).” Trump was actually indicted four times, and none of these three individuals were charged. Schiff played a leadership role in both Trump’s bounce each, and James filed a major civil suit against him.
Trump may have a “point measure,” the painter said he would analyze the incident against him and what others faced. For the painter, Biden should have also been responsible for misinterpreting the classified documents, but he believes the allegations against Biden are less severe than those against Trump. However, the painter emphasized that he does not believe any of the federal cases faced by Trump were political prosecutions.
“That doesn’t justify what’s going on right now,” Painter said.
New Jersey Attorney General Platkin said the incident against Trump is very different from what’s happening now. Career prosecutor Smith has been appointed to lead the Trump investigation under Department of Justice regulations designed to protect against political interference.
“The idea that we’re talking about two aspects of the same coin and that the Trump administration is doing or doing the same thing that was done in the Biden administration is ridiculous,” Platkin said.
“They use it as an excuse to use the full power of the US judicial system to take incredibly inappropriate behavior against their political opponents,” he added.
Bend justice to like friends?
In addition to targeting the president’s enemy, Trump’s Justice Department has taken steps to help those who may help Trump’s administration.
One of the most prominent examples came early in the year when the department dropped its bribery lawsuit against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Bove, a former Trump personal attorney who worked as a top DOJ official, said the case distracted Adams from focusing on immigration and crime. Several prosecutors resigned in protest.
According to a report by MSNBC and The New York Times, the Justice Department has also stopped investigating Tom Homan, the Trump Border Border Border Border, who was investigating a variety of potential crimes, including bribery. Investigators allegedly caught Homan, who accepts $50,000 in cash, after suggesting that executives could help secret agents in their second Trump term.
Both reported that when Homan was allegedly received the cash, they discussed internally whether the charges were appropriate given that Homan was not an employee of the government. In a statement following the report, Trump administration officials said the evidence did not support the charges and claimed the investigation was political.
Both Homan and Adams maintain their innocence.
Barbara McCade, who served as a US lawyer for the Eastern District of Michigan during the Obama administration, told USA Today that giving Homan or Adams a break for political or personal reasons would be a “breach of the rule of law.”
“We are all equal before the law. If we break the law, we should expect to be treated equally,” McQuade said.
Will it erode the boundary between the DOJ and the White House?
One of the Department of Justice’s main policies to avoid political interference is prohibiting prosecutors from being influenced by a decision to seek accusations by a defendant “political association, activity or belief.” Critics of the Trump administration say Comey’s indictment raises doubts whether the department follows its policies within its own judicial manual.
Trump’s Justice Department has also officially moved to undermine the boundaries of communication between itself and the White House, according to a February report by The Washington Post. This reviewed a new memo specifying that Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and their lawyers are permitted to start conversations with the DOJ about certain criminal and civil cases and investigations.
Trump’s September 20th post alone made him speak directly to Bondi and asks prosecutors to pursue the charges against James, Schiff and Comey. He was directly overwhelmed by the decision to charge.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, told USA that the US president should not be involved in using the US Department of Justice or the FBI for political prosecutors.
“It goes back to weaponizing the attacks and accusations on McCarthyism and Communism, and weaponizing the attacks and accusations in order to silence people, harm people, and chase political opponents,” Bonta added.
Contributed by Francesca Chambers – USA Today.
