By Russiagate standards, the Comey case is a slam-dunk

The indictment of FBI Director Jim Comey is a textbook case of political retribution -- and a carbon copy of the Russiagate tactics that Comey and his defenders actively used.

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over alleged false statements to Congress has been widely dismissed as yet another radical overreach of Donald Trump’s executive power. But to view the first ever indictment of an FBI chief solely through the lens of Trump retribution only tells half the story. By the derelict standards of the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion probe that Comey presided over and promoted long after leaving his position, his 2025 prosecution is perfectly legitimate.

There is no debate, in my view, that Trump is exploiting the justice system for revenge against a political foe. Trump took to social media to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to charge Comey and other political enemies. To secure the case, the White House forced out the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who had declined to press charges. Siebert was promptly replaced by Lindsey Halligan, a former personal attorney to Trump with no prosecutorial experience. After overruling career lawyers in her new office, Halligan filed a bare-bones indictment against Comey that is light on specifics and, by all accounts, will be hard to prove in court.

The same tactics were used in the years-long, all-encompassing Russia investigation that Comey and his defenders fervently pursued.