STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The Justice Department obeyed the wishes of President Trump and had a former FBI director indicted.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A prosecutor chosen for the job obtained the indictment from a grand jury in Virginia. The president changed U.S. attorneys and publicly demanded the prosecution of people he disliked. The resulting indictment charges James Comey with obstructing justice and making a false statement to the Senate. In a moment, we'll hear from a senator. Does he think he was lied to? First, we have the facts.
INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Johnson is covering this story. Carrie, good morning.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: What is the nature of the charges?
JOHNSON: This is a very bare-bones indictment, not even two full pages long. It seems to relate to testimony Jim Comey gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020. He was talking about the FBI probe of Russian interference in the election and about a media leak. Comey testified he had not authorized a leak from the bureau. The indictment says he did. And the statute of limitations on these charges was set to run out in a matter of days. So the DOJ was racing against the clock here. Comey responded on Instagram.
(BITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JAMES COMEY: My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I'm innocent. So let's have a trial.
INSKEEP: Well, when he says his heart is broken, I understand it to mean the Justice Department is operating explicitly at the president's direction against his political opponents. What has the president actually been saying?
JOHNSON: Well, just yesterday afternoon in the Oval Office, President Trump called Comey a bad man and a sick man. And after the indictment, Trump posted, quote, "justice in America." And he said Comey's at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes. But this is a very unusual case. Let me share a bit about the timeline. Just last week, the White House forced out a career prosecutor who had been leading the U.S. attorney's office in Virginia after that prosecutor raised doubts about the strength of this case against Comey. And the president installed Lindsey Halligan, an insurance lawyer with no experience as a prosecutor, to lead the whole office. I'm hearing many career prosecutors in Virginia are contemplating quitting over this indictment and how it all went down.
INSKEEP: Now, I should acknowledge here, Comey enraged a lot of people over the years in both parties. He enraged Republicans over the Russia investigation. But how strong is the actual case against him here?
JOHNSON: Well, Comey is not only the former FBI director. He also served as the second-in-command at the Justice Department under President George W. Bush. He was a line prosecutor in the same office in Virginia that's just indicted him. He is a good lawyer. And to make these charges stick, the Justice Department is going to need to prove that Comey knowingly lied about something that was material or important, and that is a high bar. Given all the things President Trump's been saying about Comey, Comey might actually be able to make an argument about vindictive or selective prosecution. And it's also worth noting, this year, the DOJ fired Comey's daughter, Maurene. She'd been a top federal prosecutor in New York. She's now sued over her dismissal, arguing it was because of her father.
INSKEEP: Well, how does this indictment fit with everything else the president has done at the Justice Department?
JOHNSON: President Trump has granted clemency to the Capitol rioters. DOJ has fired prosecutors who investigated Trump and other prosecutors who say they simply refuse to lie about things like deportations of migrants. But this Comey case is a major escalation. This is someone the president has targeted for years. And the feeling among DOJ veterans is, where does this end? Trump's also called for criminal charges against New York Attorney General Tish James, California Senator Adam Schiff, both prominent critics. And the president has been vowing to crack down on domestic terror and organized political violence, mentioning only yesterday George Soros and his foundation. Senator Mark Warner, Democrat from Virginia, says Trump's openly and nakedly trying to weaponize the justice system, and that might make us all less safe.
INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Johnson. Thanks for the insights. Really appreciate it.
JOHNSON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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