It has been less than a week since a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia was removed office and replaced by President Donald Trump's loyalist, Lindsey Halligan. Now, that same district is expected to announce the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, MSNBC reported on Wednesday.
Legal analysts had a debate over how Comey could be indicted in Virginia after accusations he lied to Congress during 2020 testimony on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has jurisdiction over D.C.
But the hearing came during the COVID pandemic, when witnesses were able to appear from their homes.
Brookings Institution senior fellow Molly Reynolds noted, "Will admit that, in the extremely large number of hours I spent thinking about pandemic-era congressional operations between 2020 and 2022, 'if one lies during testimony delivered remotely, where is one possibly indicted?' did not cross my mind."
International relations professor Nicholas Grossman remarked, "The president corrupting DOJ to the point of frivolous prosecutions to harass his critics—sometimes defined as law enforcement officials honoring the law— is very serious and bad. And yet, much as the regime got bogged down not silencing Kimmel, it’ll spend limited resources not convicting Comey."
National security analyst Marcy Wheeler recalled that Comey has already been investigated once by a Trump loyalist, who failed to bring charges.
"Trump ALREADY did hire a prosecutor specifically to bring frivolous prosecutions, with John Durham. We LITERALLY now know that Durham learned 2 years in that he was chasing Russian disinformation," she wrote.
It sent several on the left into conflicting emotions as they still blame Comey for announcing an investigation against Hillary Clinton shortly before the 2016 election.
"Motherf---ers. And I don't even like Comey," complained Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway.
"Is the Trump administration really going to make me support Jim Comey, the person singlehandedly responsible for the political nightmare of the past ten years?" questioned MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen.