Former FBI Director James Comey, designated by Donald Trump in his Department of Justice as a priority target, demanded this Monday, October 20, the cancellation of the process against him, arguing that they were motivated solely by the “personal grudge” of the American president.
Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed during his election campaign his desire, once back in power, to take revenge on all those whom he considers personal enemies.
James Comey, 64, is the first of these personalities accused since January 20, the beginning of the Republican’s second term.
A “personal grudge”?
Prosecuted for obstructing a parliamentary commission of inquiry and for making false statements to Congress, the former federal police director pleaded not guilty on October 8. His lawyer then announced that he would request the annulment of the process, arguing that it was motivated by a desire for revenge, as well as by the “illegal” appointment of the prosecutor appointed by Donald Trump.
“President Trump directed the Department of Justice to prosecute James Comey because of personal grudges and because James Comey has frequently criticized the president for his behavior in office,” he wrote in his appeal filed Monday.
“As no professional prosecutor wanted to carry out these orders, the president publicly forced the acting prosecutor to resign and ordered the Minister of Justice to do ‘justice,'” he recalls.
A lie under oath
In September, Donald Trump publicly pressured his Attorney General Pam Bondi, expressing surprise on his Truth Social platform that James Comey had not yet been indicted, as well as two other pet peeves.
After pressuring the attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to resign, the Republican president immediately replaced him in this strategic position with Lindsey Halligan, a White House adviser. It was the latter who personally initiated the procedure that led to the indictment on September 25 of James Comey, in relation to his oral testimony in the Senate in September 2020, a few days before the statute of limitations for the acts with which he was accused expired.
He is accused of having lied under oath when he denied, in response to a question from a senator, that he had authorized his deputy to be quoted anonymously in the media about sensitive investigations carried out by the FBI.
James Comey was abruptly fired from his position as federal police chief during Donald Trump’s first term in 2017, while the FBI was investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Source: BFM TV
