In what will likely be an uphill legal battle, the Trump administration’s U.S. attorney in Virginia is reportedly planning to ask a grand jury in the coming days to indict former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress.
Halligan’s apparent plan to seek charges against Comey follows a clear directive from Trump, who over the weekend directly called for prosecutions against Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, and Leticia???” Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday evening, directly addressing Attorney General Pam Bondi. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Earlier this week, prosecutors presented Lindsey Halligan – Trump’s former personal attorney whom he appointed to lead the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia – with a detailed memo recommending that she decline to bring perjury and obstruction charges against Comey, the sources familiar with the memo said according to ABC News.
A monthslong investigation into Comey by DOJ prosecutors failed to establish probable cause of a crime — meaning that not only would they be unable to secure a conviction of Comey by proving the claims beyond a reasonable doubt, but that they couldn’t reach a significantly lower standard to secure an indictment, the sources said
According to sources, Halligan’s deputy — a prosecutor who was briefly assigned to lead the office just a day before Trump appointed Halligan to the high-profile position — has also expressed reservations about bringing the politically charged case.
Erik Siebert, Trump’s previous nominee to the position, resigned from the office after sources said he refused to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James over unfounded allegations of mortgage fraud.
Trump later claimed he “fired” Siebert and quickly installed Halligan into the position, as he continued to make unprecedented calls for the speedy prosecution of his political foes.
“I just want people to act, they have to act, and we want to act fast,” Trump said on Saturday. “They were ruthless and vicious. I was impeached twice. I was indicted five times. It turned out to be a fake deal. And we have to act fast, one way or the other, one way or the other: they’re guilty, they’re not guilty. We have to act fast. If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty, or if they should be charged, they should be judged. And we have to do it now.”
Trump has criticized Comey for years after he briefly served as the director of the FBI during Trump’s first term before being fired over his handling of an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
The Department of Justice launched an investigation into Comey earlier this year after FBI Director Kash Patel claimed to discover “burn bags” containing sensitive documents at the FBI headquarters related to the Russia probe.
