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Donald Trump’s persistent efforts to have someone in his administration bring criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director he fired in 2017, finally achieved success on Thursday. However, the president’s public disdain for the indicted man and his expressed desire to see him jailed may make it challenging for prosecutors to convince a jury that the case was not politically motivated.
Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 after he refused to pledge loyalty to the newly elected president and publicly confirmed that the FBI was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Despite Trump’s intentions, his firing of Comey backfired, leading to the appointment of a special counsel by then deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. This special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, was tasked with overseeing the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters.
Mueller’s report, issued in 2019, concluded that his team did not establish any conspiracy or coordination between members of the Trump campaign and the Russian government. However, the investigation did uncover evidence of a Russian effort to influence the election in Trump’s favor.
Mueller confirmed that the Russian government perceived that Trump’s presidency would benefit them, and they actively sought to secure that outcome. Moreover, the Trump campaign was found to have expected electoral benefits from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.
While Mueller did not charge Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., with violating campaign finance laws for soliciting information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government, the investigation highlighted the Trump campaign’s openness to Russian assistance.
The recent indictment of Comey comes as Trump seeks to utilize the power of the justice department to punish individuals he perceives as central to the Russia investigation, which he considers a “witch-hunt” and a “hoax.”
One notable irony in this situation is that Comey, known for his non-partisan reputation as a law enforcement official, played a significant role in Trump’s election victory in 2016.
During the summer of 2016, Comey, then FBI director, decided not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a personal email server for official purposes. He held a press conference to explain his decision, stating that Clinton and her staff handled sensitive information carelessly. Although he believed potential violations of handling classified information existed, he concluded that no reasonable prosecutor would pursue such a case.
Trump leveraged this information during his campaign, attacking Clinton for her use of a private email server, especially after WikiLeaks published stolen emails from Clinton’s campaign aides.
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Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/25/james-comey-trump-enemies
