US prosecutors defend case against ex-FBI chief Comey
The case against former FBI director James Comey centers on discussions Comey allegedly had with an associate to shape coverage of his controversial decision to reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 U.S. election, prosecutors said in a court filing.
The US Department of Justice’s application was aimed at rejecting Comey’s claim that US President Donald Trump was improperly prosecuted due to his “personal grudge” against him.
Comey was accused of lying in 2020 when he told a Senate committee that he stood by his previous statement that he did not authorize anyone at the FBI to serve as an anonymous source on news about the investigations into Trump and Clinton.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to perjury and obstruction charges, and his defense has mounted a multi-pronged fight to have the case dismissed ahead of trial. The case is one of three Justice Department criminal investigations in recent weeks targeting perceived enemies of Trump.
The wide-ranging filing from the Justice Department was the first to substantively detail the case against Comey and contained allegations that had little to do with the charges he faces.
Prosecutors dismissed concerns that Trump’s hostility toward Comey motivated the investigation, arguing that Trump’s social media posts attacking Comey as a leaker indicated a “legitimate prosecutorial motivation” for the case.
The court filing describes alleged conversations between Comey and former FBI special agent and law professor Daniel Richman; In those conversations, Comey lamented coverage of his decision in October 2016 to announce the reopening of an investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server.
“Maybe you can make him smarter,” Comey wrote to Richman, referring to The New York Times reporter.
Richman later wrote to Comey that he “understood the point” of a reporter writing about Comey’s actions, according to the filing.
Comey’s decision to reopen the investigation based on new evidence obtained by the FBI became a major flashpoint in the final weeks of the 2016 election and was cited by some Clinton supporters as a reason for her loss to Trump.
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog in 2018 faulted Comey for his handling of the Clinton investigation but found no evidence of political bias.
During Trump’s first term, prosecutors chose not to file charges against Comey.
Trump has been attacking Comey for years for his handling of the FBI investigation into alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Comey emerged as a harsh critic of Trump after he was fired by Trump in 2017.
Comey asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing that he was being punished for using his right to freedom of expression to criticize the president.
with AP
