MSNBC Legal Analyst Insists Trump Will ‘Delegitimize’ Rule of Law By Targeting Political Enemies Like James Comey

MSNBC legal analyst Charles Coleman is worried that President Donald Trump will “delegitimize” the rule of law and spur Americans to stop trusting government institutions by going after political rivals like ex-FBI Director James Comey and New York City Attorney General Letitia James.

Coleman shared his thoughts during an appearance on The Weekend: Primetime on Saturday night. He said that while James may have “technically” broken the law, her crime did not warrant being indicted on charges related to mortgage fraud; by doing so, Trump is making a farce out of the justice system, Coleman said.

“There’s a more insidious point here that I want people to really get their heads around,” Coleman said. “When you continuously go after these government officials, one of the things that you do is you delegitimize the notion of the rule of law in such a way where it really calls people to question whether they should or have to respect it in the first place.”

He did not say, and was not asked, whether he believed former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department went too far when it pursued two criminal indictments against Trump.

Coleman then said that, whether the accusations against Comey, James, and ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton are true or not is irrelevant — Trump will have still undermined the legal system.

“Regardless of the outcomes of any of these investigations or alleged prosecutions, that’s the real danger here,” Coleman said. “The real danger is that ultimately you have created a space where the public now does not necessarily trust democratic institutions and may not feel like they need to be respected or that they have to be respected.”

And moving forward, Coleman said this “plays to the [Trump Administration’s] favor” because it has already grabbed an “unbridled amount of power” for the Executive Branch.

Beyond the three Trump rivals mentioned above, former CIA Director John Brennan is also in legal limbo, after the House Judiciary Committee referred Brennan to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution for making “numerous willfully and intentionally false statements” to Congress.

Fox News reported on Thursday the Justice Department was “actively preparing to issue several grand jury subpoenas relating to an investigation” into Brennan.

Watch Coleman above, via MSNBC.