Former FBI Director James Comey will likely have a strong case to get a federal judge to throw out the charges just filed against him by the Trump administration, reporter Ken Dilanian told MSNBC's Ari Melber on Thursday evening.
Comey was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice and false statements, which appear to stem from the fact that his testimony to Congress didn't exactly match that of his deputy several years ago, even though this matter was already investigated by an inspector general, and it was concluded he was likely truthful.
"This is an extraordinarily unusual process that led up to this," said Melber, himself an attorney. "Where does that put this case? What footing is it on going forward, given that extraordinary intervention by Donald Trump and him all but admitting that he wanted this done, that he wanted this against what he views as a foe, separate from perhaps the legal evidence."
"Oh, extraordinary is a good word for it, Ari. It's unprecedented," said Dilanian. "We've never seen this before in post-Watergate American history and probably pre-Watergate American history. A president publicly calling for his Justice Department to charge particular individuals. That's what happened. And thenthis particular individual,James Comey, was charged, andit happened after the U.S. attorney in this district, whohad been appointed by DonaldTrump and who we have reported was raising questions about this case, was forced out of office by Donald Trump."
"So the stage is set here for a federal judge to take a look at this and say that this was not appropriate," Dilanian continued. "But you're right that that's an argument, a legal argument that James Comey's lawyers will have to make to the judge that draws the case, and they'll have to present evidence. And a lot, I think, will depend on the strength of the evidence in this indictment, because, as you know, vindictive prosecution is one matter."
That type of defense, he added, is "not something that goes before the jury. If the case is strong enough, oftentimes that can be overcome because essentially, if the evidence is there, the mindset of the prosecutor is less important. In this case, we believe the evidence is thin, and there's ample evidence that Donald Trump orchestrated this matter by replacing the U.S. attorney."