Prosecutors urge judge to reject former FBI Director James Comey’s claim that he is being ‘vengefully’ prosecuted

Federal prosecutors on Monday urged the federal judge overseeing former FBI Director James Comey’s criminal case to reject Comey’s arguments that he is being “vindictively” prosecuted at the direction of President Donald Trump, in a court filing that directly defended Trump’s social media posts calling for Comey’s prosecution.

“Through a mix of news reports, social media posts and speculation, the defendant weaves a story of what he calls ‘egregious constitutional violations’ that resulted in his indictment for making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a Congressional investigation,” prosecutors said in the filing. “When the rigorous legal standard is applied to the facts here, it is clear that the defendant has failed to demonstrate that the Constitution requires the Court to take the extraordinary step of dismissing this case.”

Throughout the presentation, prosecutors repeatedly backed Trump’s calls for Comey to face prosecution for allegedly leaking to the media through an associate.

They further argue that a judge taking the extraordinary step of dismissing Comey’s case before trial would be an unacceptable usurpation of the powers of the executive branch, and that Trump’s calls to prosecute Comey and others are based on his constitutional responsibility to “see that the laws are faithfully executed.”

“The social interests in this process are evident and overwhelming,” prosecutors said. “The defendant is a former FBI director who lied to Congress about his conduct while leading the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency. His prosecution involves high-level societal interests.”

Comey pleaded not guilty on October 8 to one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, amid what critics call Trump payback campaign against his supposed political enemies. Vice President JD Vance has said that such prosecutions are “driven by law and not politics.”

Prosecutors acknowledge in the filing the rapidly evolving timeline in September when Trump moved to replace then-U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who sources said had resisted bringing cases against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and insurance lawyer who had never before prosecuted a case.

The events followed a post on Trump’s Truth Social account in which Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to act “NOW!!!” to prosecute Comey, James and Senator Adam Schiff.

Comey was charged with two of the three charges requested by Halligan just three days after her appointment, after ABC News reported that the office’s career prosecutors gave her a memo informing her that there was no provable case against Comey.

In their filing Monday, prosecutors argued that Comey’s lawyers have provided no direct evidence showing that Halligan showed bias or personal animosity toward Comey himself.

They further argued that Trump’s social media posts did not meet the standard of showing that Trump wanted Comey to be prosecuted for exercising his constitutional rights.

“None of the president’s social media posts express a desire for the defendant to be penalized for exercising his First Amendment rights. Nothing of the sort. The president’s social media posts are clear about why he believes the defendant should be prosecuted: believes the defendant is “totally guilty,” according to the document. “That is not an expression of revenge.”

Prosecutors also separately filed their response Monday to a challenge from Comey’s lawyers over the validity of Halligan’s appointment as federal prosecutor. Those arguments, which previously fell short in several other districts where judges have removed Trump-installed prosecutors, are scheduled for Nov. 13 in Alexandria, Virginia.