Federal prosecutors on Monday urged the federal judge overseeing former FBI Director James Comey’s criminal case to reject arguments from Comey that he is being “vindictively” prosecuted at the order of President Donald Trump, in a court filing that directly defended Trump’s social media posts calling for Comey’s prosecution.
“Through a mix of news reports, social media posts, and speculation, the defendant weaves a tale of what he calls ‘glaring constitutional violations’ that resulted in his indictment for making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a Congressional investigation,” prosecutors said in the filing. “When the rigorous legal standard is applied to the facts here, it is clear that the defendant has failed to show the Constitution requires the Court to take the extraordinary step of dismissing this case.”
Throughout the filing, prosecutors repeatedly stand by Trump’s calls for Comey to face prosecution for allegedly leaking to the news media through an associate.
They further argue that a judge taking the extraordinary step of dismissing Comey’s case before trial would be an unacceptable encroachment on the powers of the executive branch, and that Trump’s calls to prosecute Comey and others are rooted in his constitutional responsibility to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
“The societal interests in this prosecution are readily apparent and overwhelming,” prosecutors said. “The defendant is a former FBI Director who lied to Congress about his conduct while at the helm of the Nation’s primary federal law-enforcement agency. His prosecution implicates societal interests of the highest order.”
Comey pleaded not guilty on Oct. 8 to one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, amid what critics call Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes. Vice President JD Vance has said any such prosecutions are “driven by law and not by politics.”
Prosecutors acknowledge in the filing the fast-moving timeline in September when Trump moved to replace then-U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert — who sources said had resisted bringing cases against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James — with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and insurance lawyer who had never prosecuted a case before.
The events followed a post on Trump’s Truth Social account in which Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to act “NOW!!!” to prosecute Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff.
Comey was indicted on two of three counts sought by Halligan just three days after her appointment — after ABC News reported she was given a memo by career prosecutors in the office informing her that there was no provable case against Comey.
In their filing Monday, prosecutors argued that Comey’s attorneys have provided no direct evidence showing Halligan has displayed any bias or personal animosity towards Comey himself.
They further argued that Trump’s social media posts didn’t meet the standard of showing that Trump wanted Comey prosecuted for exercising his constitutional rights.
“None of the President’s social-media posts express a desire for the defendant to be penalized for exercising his First Amendment rights. Far from it. The President’s social-media posts are clear on why he thinks the defendant should be prosecuted: he thinks the defendant is ‘guilty as hell,’ the filing said. “That is not an expression of vindictiveness.”
Prosecutors also separately filed their response Monday to a challenge from Comey’s attorneys to the validity of Halligan’s appointment as U.S. attorney. Those arguments, which have previously fallen short in several other districts where judges have removed Trump-installed prosecutors, are set for Nov. 13 in Alexandria, Virginia.
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