The Trump administration’s prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey “could get interesting fast” as Comey’s legal team presented the presiding judge with a new request, one that could pose a threat to President Donald Trump, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance argued on Sunday.
Comey was indicted in April on two felony counts related to a social media post he published on Instagram: a photograph of seashells on the beach laid out to read “86 47.” The post was interpreted by Trump allies as a threat on the president’s life, with 47 likely referencing Trump as the 47th president, and 86 being an informal term used to reject or eject something.
“[Comey’s lawyers] are arguing the prosecution is selective — Comey is being prosecuted because Trump views him as a political enemy — and vindictive — Trump’s personal animus for Comey is the reason he is being prosecuted — and the indictment should be dismissed,” reads an analysis published Sunday on Vance’s Substack.
As flagged by Vance, Comey’s legal team has asked that if the case is not dismissed out of hand, then at the very least, they would be entitled to discovery, during which new evidence proving Comey’s prosecution to have been “vindictive” may emerge.
“[T]he current record justifies dismissal. But at the very least, discovery and a hearing are warranted based on the ‘reasonable likelihood of vindictiveness,’ … and the existence of ‘some evidence tending to show the existence of the essential elements of’ impermissible selection,” Comey’s legal team argued, according to Vance.
As such, Vance noted: “This case could get interesting fast.”
