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Former FBI Director James Comey asked a federal judge Monday to dismiss the Justice Department’s criminal case against him, arguing it’s a “vindictive and selective prosecution” and US Attorney Lindsey Halligan was appointed unlawfully.
Comey, 64, is facing federal charges of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice stemming from the long-running FBI probe into alleged collusion between President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russian officials. He has pleaded not guilty to both.
But his lawyerrs claimed his proseuction is purely personal.
“[T]he government has singled out Mr. Comey for prosecution because of his protected speech and because of President Trump’s personal animus toward Mr. Comey,” the ex-FBI director’s attorneys wrote in a motion to District Judge Michael Nachmanoff.
Comey’s lawyers contend that Trump “ordered” the DOJ to prosecute their client “because of personal spite and because Mr. Comey has frequently criticized the President for his conduct in office.”
“When no career prosecutor would carry out those orders, the President publicly forced the interim U.S. Attorney to resign and directed the Attorney General to effectuate ‘justice’ against Mr. Comey,” the motion continues.
Comey’s legal team cites Trump’s Sept. 20 Truth Social post directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which the president appears to pressure the AG to go after his political foes, including the ex-FBI boss, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
“Less than 48 hours after President Trump’s post, Lindsey Halligan was sworn in as interim U.S. Attorney for this District,” the filing notes.
Halligan, who is referred to in the filing as Trump’s “new hand-picked interim U.S. Attorney,” replaced former US Attorney Erik Siebert in the Eastern District of Virginia and obtained a grand jury indictment against Comey days later.
The filing includes an appendix with 60 pages worth of barbs Trump has directed at Comey since the president fired him in May 2017 to demonstrate the “genuine animus toward” Comey.
“He called Mr. Comey ‘a proven LEAKER & LIAR’ and ‘a weak and untruthful slime ball,’ and stated that Mr. Comey ‘should be prosecuted,’” Comey’s lawyers wrote, referring to some of Trump earliest social media posts attacking Comey from 2018.
“During the Biden presidency, Mr. Trump’s attacks on Mr. Comey were sporadic until 2024 when Mr. Comey publicly warned during the election campaign that a second Trump term would have ‘serious’ implications ‘for the Justice Department and the FBI, because Trump is coming for those institutions,’” they continued.
“Then-candidate Trump responded by calling Mr. Comey a corrupt liar who had perpetrated ‘[h]orrors.’”
Comey’s team acknowledges that “dismissal of federal criminal charges under these doctrines has been rare,” arguing that the reason behind this is “because for decades the DOJ has maintained the highest standard of ethics, following only the facts and the law to determine whether to bring criminal charges.”
The charges stem from testimony Comey gave during a Sept. 30, 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which the former FBI head denied authorizing leaks about the Trump administration to media outlets.
Republicans say he lied since his deputy at the FBI “publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to the Wall Street Journal” and that Comey “directly authroized it.”
In a separate motion, Comey’s lawyers argue the “indictment is fatally flawed” by claiming Halligan was appointed unlawfully – and therefore the indictment should be dismissed.
The filing notes Siebert’s 120-day limit to serve as interim US attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia expired on May 21. Siebert was authorized to go beyond the 120-day limit after judges in the district unanimously agreed to retain him past his interim appointment.
Comey’s team contends the judges in the Eastern District of Virginia should’ve selected his replacement when he left his post, not the Trump administration.
“When Mr. Siebert resigned on September 19, 2025, the district court again had the exclusive authority to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney. But instead of awaiting the district court’s selection, the Attorney General purported to appoint Ms. Halligan — even though the 120-day period ‘after appointment by the Attorney General under this section’ had long since expired,” the filing states.
Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted of the two charges against him, making false statements and obstruction of justice.
He pleaded not guilty to both charges earlier this month.
English (US)