President Donald Trump’s Justice Department absorbed a rapid series of courtroom setbacks this week, and the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey could be the next to fall, according to former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance.
“[It was] another really bad day in court for Trump,” Vance wrote on her “Civil Discourse” Substack. “Increasingly, most days in court are bad days for the Trump administration.”
The losing streak began with news that a grand jury in Washington, D.C., refused to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump aide who testified to Congress about Jan. 6. That, Vance argued, explains why prosecutors bypassed a grand jury altogether to charge Comey for a third time, filing a criminal information instead of an indictment.
“The case was apparently too weak for even this Justice Department to think it could get it past a grand jury,” Vance wrote.
That shortcut could prove fatal to the case. Comey is charged under the Espionage Act, which carries a 10-year statute of limitations, and prosecutors filed on the final day. But while the general five-year federal statute accepts either an indictment or an information, the espionage provision specifies that only an indictment will do.
Supreme Court precedent holds that when Congress uses different language in different laws, it means something different, Vance noted.
“Comey’s defense team has the better of the argument by far, and it would be unsurprising to see the judge dismiss the case,” Vance wrote. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, will hold a hearing Friday.
The administration fared no better in California, where the Justice Department is trying to force the state to set aside thousands of mail ballots from voters it claims are noncitizens. After the 9th Circuit declined to take up its appeal, U.S. District Judge David Carter appointed a special master to examine how the department built its list.
“This court thinks it would be wise that any threats to state or local officials should cease immediately,” Carter warned.
Vance called that “judge-speak for ‘you’re in deep trouble,’” noting that Carter, 82, is a Marine veteran who earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in Vietnam. “If the Justice Department thinks it’s going to push him around, I suspect it’s in for a rude awakening.”
Separately, a federal judge disqualified Bill Essayli, Trump’s pick to lead federal prosecutors in Los Angeles, from overseeing several cases, finding he was serving as acting U.S. attorney in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act. The order is paused for a week to allow an appeal.
Ed Martin, whom the Senate declined to confirm as Washington’s top federal prosecutor, responded on X: “Impeaching Judges is Necessary at Times.”
The one bright spot for the administration came at the Supreme Court, which allowed it to restrict immigration judges’ power to close deportation cases.
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