Just take a look at all of the social media posts, James Comey’s authorized staff will likely be arguing to a federal choose on Wednesday.
The purpose of the arguments will likely be to persuade Judge Michael Nachmanoff of the Eastern District of Virginia that the Justice Department’s resolution to cost Comey was an abuse of energy, coming on the route of an indignant and vindictive president – one who has lengthy wished Comey to face authorized penalties and be silenced on the general public stage.
To make the argument, known as a vindictive and selective prosecution movement, Comey’s staff has already submitted to the choose greater than 60 pages of public statements of Comey and Trump sniping at each other over years. The majority of the social media posts are from Trump, and embrace his latest route to Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey and others in September.
They additionally be aware the weird circumstances of interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan taking the indictment by the grand jury herself, simply days after she was appointed and fewer than every week earlier than the Department ran out of time to cost the Comey case.
Motions like these are notoriously arduous for defendants to win, although they’re gaining some steam in courtroom throughout this Trump administration, as high Justice officers make politically charged statements publicly about defendants underneath indictment.
If Nachmanoff doesn’t totally agree with Comey’s staff’s argument on Wednesday, it’s attainable the choose may inform the Justice Department it wants to hand over extra internal records and doubtlessly even pursue sworn statements by high administration officers, like Attorney General Pam Bondi and even Trump himself. That would possible result in new rounds of courtroom fights over entry and confidentiality.
The arguments, nevertheless, additionally could spotlight how entrenched Trump is in what some take into account his retaliatory presidency.