President Donald Trump’s own words were used in a blistering motion to dismiss the case against former FBI Director James Comey for “vindictive prosecution,” among other things.
Comey was indicted shortly after Trump publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after a list of enemies in a DM-style Truth Social post and again in remarks to reporters.
Many experts have observed that Trump, who continued to rail against Comey uncontrollably, could be helping Comey build a case for malicious prosecution.
That premise was put to the test on Monday, when Comey’s Patrick Fitzgerald-led legal team filed motions to get the case dismissed over those attacks, and for what they say is an illegal appointment of former Trump attorney-turned-US Attorney Lindsey Halligan.
Comey’s team filed a motion “to Dismiss Indictment based on Vindictive and Selective Prosecution by James B. Comey, Jr,” and another motion “to Dismiss Indictment based on Unlawful Appointment.”
The former motion begins:
The indictment in this case arises from multiple glaring constitutional violations and an egregious
abuse of power by the federal government. The United States Constitution entitles individuals to speak out against the government and, in turn, forbids the government from retaliating against individuals for their protected speech. And bedrock principles of due process and equal protection have long ensured that government officials may not use courts to punish and imprison their perceived personal and political enemies. But that is exactly what happened here.President Trump ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute Mr. Comey because of personal spite and because Mr. Comey has frequently criticized the President for his conduct in office. When no career prosecutor would carry out those orders, the President publicly forced the interim U.S. Attorney to resign and directed the Attorney General to effectuate “justice” against Mr. Comey. He then installed a White House aide with no prosecutorial experience as interim U.S. Attorney. The President’s new hand-picked interim U.S. Attorney indicted Mr. Comey just days later—and days before the relevant statute of limitations was set to expire.
Attached to the motion was a whopping 59-page list of attacks by Trump on Comey dating back to 2017.