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The second accusation against James Comey is not only absurd, but also deeply disturbing.
Trying to prosecute a guy for threatening the president’s life by posting a photo of seashells?
After an earlier, much broader indictment against the fired FBI director and despised by President Donald Trump was thrown out by the courts?
But don’t take my word for it:
JAMES COMEY CHARGED FOR ALLEGED THREATS AGAINST TRUMP: DOJ
Former FBI Director James Comey came under fire for a social media post “86 47.” (Ralph Alswang/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
ABC’s Jonathan Karl: “Even Trump allies privately call it ’embarrassing’ or, as a very prominent former Trump Justice Department official told me last night, ‘depressing.'”
National Review former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy: “This charade, then, is nothing more than a continuation of Trump’s legal campaign against a political enemy. It is inconceivable that Comey could be convicted of a crime under these circumstances, but the president’s henchmen are subjecting him to the anxiety, expense and stigma of the judicial process.”
Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley said on Fox: “I must be in a parallel universe to talk about James Comey’s art… Simply showing the image will be a weak case in terms of threat.”
“It will be thrown out. It’s classic revenge,” Ty Cobb, Trump’s first-term White House lawyer, told CNN.
LEGAL EXPERTS WARN COMEY ’86 47′ PROSECUTION FACE FIRST AMENDMENT OBSTACLES
The collection of seashells, which Comey said he found on a North Carolina beach, read 86 47. In restaurant parlance, 86 means to get rid of a customer or a dish, not kill it. And the other numbers refer to the 47th president. It was spectacularly bad judgment on Comey’s part to post the photo on his Instagram account.
But after an uproar, Comey deleted the post and said it was in no way intended to suggest political violence.
“I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,” Comey said after the new charges were filed.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche denied that President Donald Trump had ordered him to bring the charge. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
By now it’s no secret that the Justice Department has become an aggressive player in Trump’s retaliation campaign. One of the reasons he fired Pam Bondi as attorney general is that he was dissatisfied with the pace of the investigations.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche yesterday denied that the president had ordered him to bring the charge. “Anyone who tries to present a narrative that this is just about seashells or something to the contrary is missing the point,” he told CBS. “You cannot threaten the president of the United States.”
But Trump didn’t have to make a secret phone call to demand impeachment. He speaks openly about those he considers enemies, like Letitia James. He said he was glad when former special counsel Bob Mueller died.
In the past, Trump has referred to Comey as “scum,” “slimy,” and “lying trash.”
Trump told reporters yesterday that 86 is “a mob term for killing ’em, you know? Have you ever seen movies?” ’86,’ the mobster tells one of his wonderful associates.”
When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins if he felt his life was in danger, Trump said “probably.”
“I think people like Comey have created a tremendous danger for politicians and others. You know, Comey is a dirty cop, he’s a very dirty cop… He’s a corrupt man.”
Other presidents may have declined to comment on what is now an ongoing criminal trial, but that’s not Donald Trump.
FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS COMEY’S CHARGES ARE BASED ON THE INTENT OF THE EVIDENCE AND THE JURY’S INTERPRETATION
Trump remained anything but silent about the impeachment. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The first indictment, last September, came after Secret Service agents tracked down the former FBI chief. It included charges of leaking and lying to Congress, but Tuesday’s simplified version deals only with the shell photo.
Trump’s defenders say that during his first term he was prosecuted with four criminal cases. So this, in his opinion, is a fitting revenge.
But during the campaign I lost count of how many times Trump told me “the best reward will be success.”
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Instead, he has vengefully gone after political opponents, law firms, news organizations and others.
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These efforts have so far fallen short in court. The charge against Comey is so exaggerated that not even the most conservative legal commentators defend it.