Former FBI Director James Comey’s legal team is reportedly once again attempting to get federal criminal charges against him dropped. His lawyers argued on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s personal anger toward Comey wrongly prompted the prosecution.
“This is an extraordinary case and it merits an extraordinary remedy,” Comey’s lawyer Michael Dreeben said before U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, during opening arguments.
Dreeben cited Trump’s public comments on the case as “an admission that this is a political prosecution and not based on evidence.”
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Why this motion matters
The hearing will determine whether the president’s public demands to prosecute those he sees as his political enemies could upend the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) cases.
Judge Nachmanoff is expected to consider Trump’s influence over federal prosecutors as he weighs Comey’s lawyers’ argument that the case is a meritless “vindictive” prosecution meant to punish the former FBI leader because of his criticism of the president.
The DOJ denies that the case against Comey is politically motivated and contends that the accusations support the indictment.
Trump’s campaign promise of retribution and actions
During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised retribution and has called for legal action against prominent political figures who have criticized or investigated him.
The DOJ has also indicted Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James on federal charges of bank fraud and making false statements, which she denies.
She contends that the investigation is intended to punish her for a civil fraud lawsuit she brought against Trump and his company, in which the president was accused of unlawfully inflating asset value to get more favorable loans.
James has also made an attempt to have the charges against her dropped and has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Further, the administration indicted John Bolton, who served as the president’s national security adviser during his first term, on charges of illegally transmitting and retaining classified material. Bolton has maintained his innocence and has been a frequent critic of the president following his exit from the White House.
Accusations against Comey
Federal prosecutors accuse Comey of lying to a Senate committee when he denied authorizing the release of information about FBI investigations to the press.
Comey has since launched a multifaceted effort to have the charges against him dropped before the case goes to trial.
His attorneys argue that the president’s years of social media attacks against Comey date back to 2017, when Trump fired him as FBI director. The president ousted Comey amid the FBI’s investigation into contact between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Comey later called Trump “morally unfit to be president.”
Legitimacy of prosecutor and DOJ errors brought into question
Comey’s lawyers also cite Trump’s selection of Lindsey Halligan, the president’s former personal attorney with no prosecutorial experience, as the interim U.S. attorney to lead the case after her predecessor was fired for his reluctance to bring charges against Comey, as an example of why charges should be dismissed.
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie questioned whether Halligan’s appointment by Trump was legal and is set to rule on the matter before Thanksgiving, per Reuters.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, who will sort out pretrial issues in Comey’s case, found this week that Halligan potentially made notable legal mistakes before the grand jury indicted the former FBI director.
The Justice Department reportedly revealed in court on Wednesday that the grand jury that charged Comey was not given a copy of the final indictment, which could harm prosecution efforts already facing multiple challenges, including a request for dismissal, per The Associated Press.
Motions to dismiss cases based on allegations that the prosecution is vindictive allow defendants to argue that the charges brought against them were instigated because they exercised their legal rights.
These vindictive prosecution motions are not often successful, but have garnered more attention as Trump pursues criminal charges against some of his political critics, according to Reuters.
Comey has pleaded not guilty in the case, and his trial is scheduled to begin in January 2026.
