Trump allies call the second Comey seashell indictment embarrassing’
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The second accusation against James Comey is not only absurd, it is also deeply disturbing.
Are you trying to sue a man who threatened the president’s life by posting a picture of seashells?
After an earlier, much broader indictment against the fired FBI director despised by President Donald Trump was thrown out of court?
But don’t take my word for it:
JAMES COMEY ALLEGEDLY THREATENED AGAINST TRUMP: DOJ
Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged over his “86 47” social media post. (Disney General Entertainment Content via Ralph Alswang/Getty Images)
ABC’s Jonathan Karl: “Even Trump’s allies are privately calling it ’embarrassing,’ or as a very prominent former Trump Justice Department official told me last night, ‘depressing.'”
Andy McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, from National Review: “This farce, then, is nothing more than a continuation of Trump’s legal campaign against a political foe. It is inconceivable that Comey could be convicted of a crime under the circumstances, but the president’s minions 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 talking about James Comey’s shell art… Just showing the image would be a weak case in terms of threat.”
“He’ll be fired. This is classic revenge,” Ty Cobb, one of Trump’s first-term White House lawyers, told CNN.
LEGAL EXPERTS WARN THAT COMEY ’86 47′ CLAIM FACES FIRST AMENDMENT OBSTACLES
The seashell collection that Comey said he found on the North Carolina coast said 86 47. In restaurant parlance, 86 means getting rid of a customer or a meal, not killing them. Other numbers refer to the 47th president. It was an extremely bad decision for Comey to post the photo on his Instagram account.
However, after the uproar, Comey deleted the post and said that he did not intend to indicate political violence in any way.
After the new accusations, Comey said, “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in an independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has denied that President Donald Trump instructed him to bring the indictment. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
It’s no secret at this point that the Justice Department has become an aggressive player in Trump’s revenge campaign. One reason he fired Pam Bondi as attorney general was because he was unhappy with the pace of investigations.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche yesterday denied that the president instructed him to bring the indictment. “Anyone who tries to push a narrative that this is just about seashells or something else is missing the point,” he told CBS. “You cannot threaten the president of the United States.”
But Trump did not need to make a secret phone call to request the indictment. Letitia speaks openly about those she sees as enemies, like James. He said he was glad former special prosecutor Bob Mueller was dead.
In the past, Trump has referred to Comey as a “scumbag,” a “scumbag,” and a “lying scumbag.”
Trump told reporters yesterday that ’86’ is “a mob term for killing ’em, you know? Have you ever seen the movie? ’86’ is what the mob called one of his great associates.”
Asked by CNN whether Kaitlan Collins’ life was in danger, Trump said “probably.”
“People like Comey, I think, have created a tremendous danger to politicians and others. You know, Comey is a dirty cop, he’s a very dirty cop… He’s a crooked man.”
Other presidents may have declined to comment on criminal prosecutions currently ongoing, but this is not Donald Trump.
FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS COMEY’S LIABILITY DEPENDS ON EVIDENCE OF INTENT AND JURY INTERPRETATION
In the indictment, Trump was nothing but a mother. (Thoss Katopodis/Getty Images)
The first indictment last September came after Secret Service agents tracked down the former FBI chief. The report included accusations of leaking information and lying to Congress, but Tuesday’s stripped-down version dealt only with the shell photo.
Trump defenders say he was persecuted by four criminal cases during his first term. So, to them, this is an appropriate refund.
But I’ve lost track of how many times Trump told me during the campaign, “The best revenge will be success.”
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Instead, he went after political opponents, law firms, news organizations and others with a vengeance.
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These efforts have so far fallen short in court. Comey’s indictment is so exaggerated that even most conservative legal commentators do not defend it.
