#political-prosecution
6 entries with this tag
After Watching Its Earlier Indictments of James Comey Collapse, Trump's Justice Department Charged the Former FBI Director Yet Again — This Time With Two Espionage Act Counts Over an Alleged 2016 Leak of National-Defense Information to a Reporter — but Filed It as a Bare "Criminal Information" on the Very Last Day Before the Ten-Year Clock Ran Out, Without a Grand Jury, a Maneuver Legal Experts Say Likely Cannot Stop the Statute of Limitations and That Comey Can Simply Refuse to Consent To
On October 26, 2026, newly unsealed court documents revealed that the Trump Justice Department had charged former FBI Director James Comey for a third time — now with two counts under the Espionage Act: willfully communicating national-defense information to a person not entitled to receive it, and conspiring to do so. The theory is that Comey, "through one or more co-conspirators," directed someone to disclose national-defense information to a reporter at a national news publication (reported to be the New York Times), with the alleged conduct dated to October 5, 2016. The problem is the calendar and the procedure. The Espionage Act carries a ten-year statute of limitations, which expired on October 5, 2026 — and the DOJ filed not a grand-jury indictment but a bare "criminal information" on that exact last day, apparently because it could not get a grand jury to indict in time. Legal experts, including former prosecutor Elie Honig, say an information filed without a grand jury or the defendant's consent likely cannot toll the ten-year clock, and Comey cannot be tried on an information alone unless he waives indictment — which he has no reason to do. His lawyers moved to dismiss, arguing the statute "explicitly demands" an indictment that the government never secured and that the charge is time-barred. Comey's response was a shrug: "Nothing's changed with me." He is still innocent, he said. This is the third swing at the man Trump fired in 2017, after the earlier cases — including the one built around a photo of seashells — fell apart, and it has the hallmarks of the previous ones: a prosecution driven by the president's grudge rather than a case the government can actually win.
Trump Campaigned on Ending the "Weaponization" of the Justice Department — Then Turned It Into an Instrument for Prosecuting His Enemies: His Acting AG Says Trump Has a "Right" and "Duty" to Order Investigations, a Trump-Loyalist "Grand Conspiracy" Grand Jury in Florida Is Hunting His Foes, and 100+ Career Prosecutors Have Quit
A Democratic member of Congress, appearing on NBC's "Hallie Jackson NOW" on July 31, 2026, said Trump is "hellbent" on controlling the Justice Department and is "personally directing" the cases the department is bringing against his political opponents. The charge is not speculation; it is the documented operating principle of the DOJ under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. In his first press conference as acting AG, Blanche said Trump has both a "right" and a "duty" to order the department to investigate his enemies — and when asked how he would square that with Trump's own executive order claiming to end the "weaponization" of government, he said he would not. Under Blanche, the DOJ has: re-indicted former FBI Director James Comey (after Trump publicly forced out the prosecutor who found insufficient evidence, installed his own former personal lawyer, and got an indictment within days — later dismissed, then refiled over a social-media post of seashells spelling "86 47"); pursued New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, former CIA Director John Brennan, members of Congress, and a probe into California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife; and stood up a "grand conspiracy" grand jury in the Trump-friendly Southern District of Florida — led by 2020-election-denier Joe diGenova — to hunt Obama- and Biden-era officials as an anti-Trump cabal. More than 100 career prosecutors have resigned, many citing political interference. A Marquette poll found 55% of Americans believe the DOJ has filed unjustified cases against Trump's opponents. The thing Trump said he would stop, he built.
DOJ Whistleblower Reveals Prosecutors Were Ordered to Rush a "Legally Deficient" SPLC Indictment — Zero Convictions Across the Entire Retribution Agenda
A DOJ whistleblower revealed that senior leadership ordered prosecutors to fast-track a "legally deficient" indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center despite their objections. This is the latest in Trump's retribution campaign — Comey, Letitia James, Bolton, the SPLC, law firms, former intel chiefs, sitting senators — and not a single target has been convicted.
DOJ Indicts Comey Over a Photo of Seashells — After First Indictment Was Thrown Out
Trump's DOJ indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a second time — now over an Instagram photo of seashells spelling "86 47" on a beach. The first indictment (false statements to Congress) was thrown out after a judge ruled the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed. The charges: threatening the president — via a shell arrangement. Comey's lawyer will argue vindictive prosecution.
DOJ Drops the Powell Probe It Never Had Evidence For — Clearing the Way to Replace Him
Jeanine Pirro's DOJ dropped the criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell — the one a judge said had "essentially zero evidence" and existed solely to pressure Powell to resign or lower rates. The quiet part: Sen. Tillis was blocking Kevin Warsh's confirmation as Powell's replacement until the probe was dropped. Now it's dropped. Now Warsh can proceed.
DOJ Admits "We Don't Know" What Crime Powell Committed — Judge Finds "Zero Evidence"
A DOJ prosecutor admitted in a sealed hearing they had no evidence of wrongdoing by Fed Chair Powell. The judge found "essentially zero evidence" of a crime and ruled the investigation's sole purpose was to pressure Powell to lower interest rates or resign.