Quickly after President Donald Trump demanded in a social media put up that the Division of Justice prosecute his perceived enemy, former FBI director James Comey, Comey used to be indicted on Sept. 25, 2025, for mendacity to a Congressional committee in 2020.
Comey’s attorneys have spoke back, submitting a movement on Oct. 20, 2025, to disregard the fees towards him with prejudice – the “prejudice” being prison jargon for barring a refiling of the fees. Comey’s attorneys allege that the Justice Division’s prosecution is each selective and vindictive.
In spite of the life of a protracted string of Trump assaults particularly urging that Comey be prosecuted, getting the case pushed aside as a prosecution this is selective, vindictive or each would require Comey to conquer an overly sturdy presumption that the charging choice used to be lawful.
Former FBI Director James Comey speaks all through a Senate Intelligence Committee listening to on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 8, 2017.
AP Picture/Andrew Harnik
Selective prosecution
For a court docket to seek out that there’s a selective prosecution, Comey has two hurdles.
First, he has to reveal that he used to be singled out for prosecution for one thing others have performed with out being prosecuted.
2d, Comey should turn out that the federal government discriminated towards him for his constitutionally secure speech of criticizing Trump.
Clearing either one of those hurdles turns out not likely. Others, together with former Trump fixer Michael Cohen and previous Reagan management Protection Secretary Caspar Weinberger, were prosecuted for a similar form of crimes – allegedly making false statements to Congress or unlawfully in search of to persuade or impede a Senate investigation.
Vindictive prosecution
Because of Trump’s repeated statements and social media posts that Comey must be charged, proving a vindictive prosecution could also be more straightforward.
Certainly, the movement to disregard begins by way of laying out the argument for a vindictive prosecution, signaling that Comey’s attorneys suppose that is the more potent argument by way of main with it.
Nonetheless, if Comey’s attorneys are to persuade the pass judgement on, they’ll have to conquer a heavy burden that the prosecution has exceeded the large discretion of the prosecutor.
The prison usual calls for a court docket to first in finding that the prosecutor had animus, hostility, towards Comey, and 2nd, that the fees should not have been introduced if there used to be no animus.
The movement to disregard in response to vindictive prosecution makes an overly sturdy appearing of animus, depending on Trump’s a number of statements and social media posts that Comey must be prosecuted and that Comey used to be a “Dirty Cop” and “a total SLIMEBALL!”
Additional proof comes to the truth that no different prosecutor rather than Trump’s former private attorney, Lindsey Halligan, would search fees towards Comey.
Nonetheless, the grand jury discovered possible motive for the 2 fees towards Comey and issued the indictment. The federal government will most probably argue that demonstrates that the fees will have been introduced even supposing there used to be animus.
A social media put up by way of President Donald Trump urging Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi to prosecute his perceived enemies, together with James Comey.
Fact Social Donald Trump account
Fallback place
Comey’s attorneys are leaning closely on arguments for a dismissal of the fees with prejudice, however they actually have a fallback place.
If the pass judgement on determines that they’ve no longer proved a selective or vindictive prosecution, they’re inquiring for the chance to procure discovery – the document – of the federal government’s choice to hunt fees from the grand jury, and a listening to on their movement to disregard the indictment.
Given Trump’s public statements and social media posts, and the prison authority in this factor, as an established practitioner and trainer of prison regulation, I consider the pass judgement on could be very most probably to select this plan of action.
Regardless of how the trial pass judgement on laws at the movement to disregard, the dropping facet is sure to enchantment. Regardless of how the federal appeals court docket laws, the dropping facet is prone to search Preferrred Courtroom evaluation. Whether or not the court docket would take the sort of case is not possible to expect with any sure bet.
