“It makes sense to see where the truth lies,” Gerard Fillit, senior counsel with The Lawfare Project, said on American Family Radio Friday.
Comey, appointed to lead the FBI by Barack Obama in 2013, is charged with making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Those allegations stem from his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30, 2020.
During that testimony, Comey denied authorizing or being aware of any FBI leaks to the media regarding investigations into Trump or Hillary Clinton. Prosecutors allege that these statements were false, citing evidence suggesting Comey approved a leak related to an October 2016 Wall Street Journal article about a probe into the Clinton Foundation.
The indictment also alleges that Comey's false statements obstructed the committee's investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information.
The charges are not related to the substance of the Russia investigation but focus on his testimony regarding media leaks.
“This is why a grand jury was impaneled, and the grand jury did return a bill of indictment, which means that there is enough there to take this further to trial and to see what the truth actually is. And it's only fitting that the former director of the FBI be subjected to the same system of law that we all are,” Filitti told show host Jenna Ellis.
Critics, many who did not call out weaponization of government resources when the FBI was infiltrating Catholic churches or was used to threaten concerned parents speaking out at school board meetings, say the indictment is nothing more than Trump going after political enemies.
They say it reflects “abuse of power” by the current administration, targeting opponents rather than acting purely on evidence.
“At the end of the day, we have to remember what this prosecution is about. This is not a prosecution of James Comey because he doesn't like Donald Trump. This is a prosecution alleging that he made false statements to Congress, that he lied to Congress, and that in so doing he obstructed justice,” Filitti said.
Trump, Comey have a history
However, there’s plenty of evidence to show Comey “doesn’t like” Trump, who removed him as FBI head in May of 2017, just months into Trump’s first term as president.
In an ABC interview in 2018, Comey called Trump “morally unfit” to be president. He has criticized Trump’s behavior on numerous occasions.
In May, Comey posted a photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged in the sand spelling out “8647." He captioned it, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
The post caused a firestorm: Trump allies and officials interpreted “86” as slang for “eject, remove, or kill,” and “47” as referencing Trump as the 47th president.
They treated it as a veiled call for violence.
Comey removed the post and claimed he was ignorant of what "86" means, even though the term has been law enforcement jargon since the 1960s.
But that’s not what the indictment is about. His alleged false statements are the reason for his indictment, Filitti said.
“Those statements don't have to do with whether or not he likes Trump or what his political views are. This has to do with the application of the law to facts, to Comey's conduct as director of the FBI. And that should not be a political question. That should be a straightforward legal issue.”
Indictment not about Trump Russia hoax … for now
As FBI director, Comey oversaw “Crossfire Hurricane”, the bureau’s investigation (opened in July 2016) into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Comey later testified that he did this because he thought Trump “needed to know” about the allegations, even though the FBI had not confirmed them.
“A lot of the allegations that come from the Trump-Russia collusion issue are outside the statute of limitations. We have to remember these started in 2016 and 2017, so a five-year statute would run out at the end of Trump's first term or the beginning of Joe Biden's term.
“Really with Joe Biden there was no incentive to investigate or prosecute misconduct relating to actions taken potentially illegally against Donald Trump,” Filitti said.
However, the Russia collusion hoax could come up down the road, former FBI agent Bruce Rather told AFN.
“This may be the opening shot on a much deeper set of crimes involving other people in addition to Comey. The government may be arresting him with the hope that he will cooperate against other people.”
He says it's a role Comey would grab in a heartbeat.
“He's in a really can't lose much situation, at least on its face. And he can be the big martyr for the Democratic Party.”
Rather says Comey, who still has a lot of friends in Washington, may also be playing the odds that the Justice Department can't find an impartial jury in the Eastern District of Virginia to convict him. And Rather says Comey still has a lot of friends in Washington.
“We're still seeing the deep state within the Department of Justice is right there. I mean, they are not cleaned out at all.”
