Former prosecutors and scholars have condemned Donald Trump's public and private efforts to secure an indictment against ex-FBI director James Comey, calling it a sign of the US sliding into authoritarianism. They warn that Trump's interference could taint the case by making it appear as a selective, politically motivated prosecution.
Comey was indicted last week on two criminal counts in Virginia, following a series of moves by Trump to pressure the justice department. Trump forced the resignation of US attorney Erik Siebert after he reportedly deemed the case weak, and replaced him with White House adviser Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump defence lawyer with no prosecutorial experience. Halligan was the sole signatory on the sparse two-page indictment.
Trump also publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi on Truth Social to act quickly ahead of a statute of limitations deadline. The indictment accuses Comey of lying to Congress in 2020 about a leak related to the FBI's Russia investigation and obstructing Congress. Comey has denied the charges, posting on Instagram: 'My heart is broken for the Department of Justice... I'm innocent. So, let's have a trial and keep the faith.'
Experts say Trump's heavy-handed tactics undermine decades of separation between the White House and the justice department. Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney, said: 'Since the Watergate era, communications between the White House and the DoJ have been strictly limited... Trump's replacement of a prosecutor who reportedly declined to charge Comey with his own White House aide destroys any pretense of DoJ independence.'
Michael Bromwich, a former DoJ inspector general, described the situation as 'chilling', adding: 'Prosecutors are taught to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. That credo has been replaced by the command to do what the White House says... The Comey indictment shows this new credo: do the wrong thing in the wrong way for the wrong reasons.'
