Indicted former FBI Director James Comey is seeking to have his criminal case dismissed on the grounds that he is the victim of selective prosecution because of President Trump’s disdain for him.
Comey’s defense team filed a motion to dismiss Tuesday, arguing that the Trump administration’s false statements case is an unconstitutional abuse of power by the Trump administration.
“Ample objective evidence—much of which comes directly from government officials’ own public statements and admissions—establishes that the government’s animus toward Mr. Comey led directly to this vindictive and selective prosecution,” Comey’s attorneys said in court papers.
“The proper remedy for the government’s constitutional violations is a dismissal with prejudice. That is the only way to cure the government’s flagrant misconduct and to deter similar future prosecutions of perceived political opponents.”
The court papers provide a detailed history of Comey’s career and the animus between him and President Trump. In 2017, Trump fired Comey for his role in kickstarting the FBI’s investigation into false claims of collusion between Trump and Russia. Comey became an anti-Trump commentator after his dismissal and a regular target of Trump’s barbs.
Comey’s attorneys argue that Trump’s demonstrable, years-long disdain for Comey is the motivating factor behind the government’s prosecution. They cite Trump’s public statements, including a recent Truth Social post urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring the case against Comey.
Furthermore, Comey’s lawyers refer to Trump’s decision to fire a career prosecutor and install Lindsey Halligan as the U.S. Attorney for eastern Virginia. Halligan is a former mid-level Trump White House staffer and personal attorney for Trump with no prosecutorial experience. Veteran prosecutor Erik Siebert struggled to build a case against Comey in eastern Virginia before Trump fired him and put Halligan in charge.
“Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot. We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Trump said in the social media post addressed to Bondi.
Halligan brought the charges against Comey days before the statute of limitations was set to expire. Trump gleefully celebrated the indictment on social media upon its arrival.
If the charges are not dismissed for vindictive prosecution, Comey’s legal team is asking for discovery and a hearing on the matter.
Vindictive prosecution claims are usually difficult to prove, although Comey’s case has more evidence for it than most. Comey’s team is also prepared to challenge the legality of Halligan’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney, an issue that an outside judge will be brought in to rule on.
Federal prosecutors may seek to have Comey’s lead attorney, renowned former federal prosecutor Pat Fitzgerald, removed from the case for allegedly assisting Comey with leaks to the media in 2017 after Trump fired Comey.
Bondi has asserted that the prosecution of Comey is based on the principle that nobody is above the law. FBI Director Kash Patel has said the case against Comey reflects proper accountability for the weaponization of the intelligence community against Trump.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case is set to go to trial as early as January if it is not dismissed.
Comey is not the only one of the president’s political opponent facing prosecution from Trump’s Justice Department. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton have both been indicted in recent weeks.
Before Trump’s second term, the Biden administration’s Justice Department and two Democratic district attorneys pursued criminal cases against Trump, setting the stage for the Trump administration’s current actions. Those cases happened during Trump’s victorious presidential campaign against then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.