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erik siebert
Comey’s Indictment: A Timeline of Weaponization
What Trump has done to Jim Comey, he can do to anyone who displeases him.
Sep 30, 2025
The Department of Justice has become US President Donald Trump’s personal weapon. Former FBI Director James Comey’s indictment crossed a line that no democracy can tolerate. The timeline tells the story.
Act I: The Setup
January 27, 2017: Trump held a private dinner at the White House with FBI Director Comey. In their meeting, Trump told Comey—twice, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.”
On Trump’s first pass, Comey didn’t respond. The second time, Comey said, “You will always get honesty from me.”
“That’s what I want,” Trump answered. “Honest loyalty.”
February 14, 2017: In a private meeting with Comey, Trump raised the subject of former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, who was under investigation and later pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Russia during the 2016 campaign.
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Trump said. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” Comey did not say that he would.
March 30, 2017: Trump asked Comey to “lift the cloud” of the Russia investigation.
April 11, 2017: Trump asked what Comey had done in response to his prior request to “get out” the word that he was not personally under investigation.
Act II: The Firing
May 3, 2017: During Comey’s Senate testimony, he refused to answer questions about whether Trump was under investigation relating to Russian election interference. He also said, “It makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election.” Trump was furious.
May 9, 2017: Trump fired Comey.
Act III: The Mueller Report
May 17, 2017: Comey’s firing prompted Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to name former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.
April 18, 2019: Mueller’s report became public and concluded:
- “[T]he Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome.” (Vol. I, p. 5)
- The Trump campaign “expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.” (Vol. I, p. 5)
- Trump tried repeatedly to obstruct the investigation into his campaign ties to Russia.
- “[I]f we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment… Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” (Vol. II, p. 2)
Mueller’s investigation produced 37 indictments and seven guilty pleas or convictions. More than 1,000 former federal prosecutors signed a statement that if any other American engaged in the same efforts to impede federal proceedings as Trump did, they would likely be indicted on multiple charges of obstruction of justice.
Throughout the remainder of Trump’s first term and after his defeat in 2020: Trump continued to rant that “Jim ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey” should be tried for treason—which is punishable by death. But his threats carried little weight.
Act IV: Weaponization
Department of Justice guidelines require sufficient evidence to prove and sustain a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. And charging decisions cannot be influenced by a defendant's political affiliation: “There is no place in the decision-making process for animosity or careerism….”
January 2025: Trump appointed Erik Siebert, a career prosecutor, acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Early September: With the statute of limitations on potential charges against Comey expiring on September 30, 2025, Siebert had serious doubts about the case. His views quickly made their way up the Justice Department’s chain of command.
September 19: Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he wanted Siebert “out” because he hadn’t prosecuted another Trump enemy, New York Attorney General Letitia James: “It looks like she’s very guilty of something….”
Later on September 19: Siebert resigned..
September 20, 6:44 pm: Trump claimed that he had fired Siebert and pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey, Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.):
Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’ Then we almost put in a Democrat supported US attorney, in Virginia, with a really bad Republican past. A Woke RINO, who was never going to do his job. That’s why two of the worst Dem Senators PUSHED him so hard. He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case. No, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so. 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!!! President DJT
September 20, 7:51 pm: Trump congratulated Bondi on doing a “GREAT job as Attorney General” and announced Lindsey Halligan, 36, as his choice to replace Siebert. Halligan—a former insurance lawyer—had never handled a criminal case and was a staff secretary in the White House effort to remove "improper ideology" from Smithsonian properties. She was one of Trump’s personal lawyers in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
September 22: Halligan was sworn in as acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
September 25: After Halligan personally presented evidence to the grand jury, it indicted Comey on two counts in a sparse indictment consisting of only one-and-a-half pages and signed only by Halligan.
Count 1 accused Comey of lying to the Senate when he said he “had not ‘authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports’ regarding an FBI investigation.” Count 2 accused him of obstructing Congress, presumably with the same alleged lie, but it was not specified.
September 25, 5:45 pm: Bondi posted:
No one is above the law. Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.
September 25, 5:52 pm: FBI Director Kash Patel posted:
Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability. For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust. Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on. Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose. Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account—no matter their perch. No one is above the law.
September 25, 7:24 pm: Trump posted:
JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI. Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts. He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Act V: Who’s Next?
September 25: Trump told reporters that he expected more political enemies to face charges: “It’s not a list, but I think there’ll be others. I mean, they’re corrupt. They were corrupt radical left Democrats.”
September 26, 6:57 am: Trump posted:
Whether you like Corrupt James Comey or not, and I can’t imagine too many people liking him, HE LIED! It is not a complex lie, it’s a very simple, but IMPORTANT one.
He left himself ZERO margin of error on a big and important answer to a question. He just got unexpectedly caught. James ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey was a destroyer of lives. He knew exactly what he was saying, and that it was a very serious and far reaching lie for which a very big price must be paid.
September 26, 7:00 am: Trump posted: “JAMES COMEY IS A DIRTY COP. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
September 27, 6:40 pm: Trump posted:
I’d like to thank Kash Patel and the outstanding members of the FBI, for their brilliant work on the recent indictment of the Worst FBI Director in the History of Our Country, James ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey. The level of enthusiasm by the FBI was incredible, but only caused by the fact that they knew Comey for what he is, and was, a total SLIMEBALL! Again, thank you to the FBI and, specifically, those that worked on this case with U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, and the DOJ. Thanks you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. President DJT.
In his 6:57 a.m. rant on September 26, Trump began his verbal assault on the judge assigned to Comey’s case:
There is no way he [Comey] can explain his way out of it. He is a Dirty Cop, and always has been, but he was just assigned a Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge, so he’s off to a very good start.
What Trump has done to Jim Comey and is now doing to the judge in the case, he can do to anyone who displeases him. And he will.
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'There'll Be Others': Comey Just the Beginning of DOJ Targets, Trump Warns
"You can expect to see more of this sort of fact-free, ethically-compromised indictment as Trump works through his enemies list," said one observer.
Sep 26, 2025
US President Donald Trump said Friday that the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is likely just the beginning of what critics are calling a "revenge tour" aimed at punishing perceived political enemies—especially officials who held the convicted felon accountable or tried to do so.
The president was asked by a reporter outside the White House in Washington, DC, "Now that James Comey has been indicted, who is the next person on your list in this retribution?"
Trump replied: "It's not a list, but I think there'll be others. I mean, they're corrupt. These were corrupt radical left Democrats."
"Comey was essentially a Dem... he was worse than a Democrat," Trump said of the former FBI director, who was a registered Republican for most of his adult life before leaving the party and becoming unaffiliated in 2016. "I would say the Democrats are better than Comey."
"But there'll be others," the president reiterated. "That's my opinion. They weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history. What they've done is terrible. And so... frankly, I hope there are others [because] you can't let this happen to a country."
Q: Now that Comey has been indicted, who is the next person on your list?TRUMP: It's not a list, but I think they'll be others. I mean, they're corrupt. These were corrupt radical left Democrats.
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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 26, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Comey was indicted Thursday by newly installed US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan—a former personal lawyer for Trump who has never prosecuted a case—for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing congressional proceedings related to testimony he delivered before a US Senate committee in 2020. He was charged despite career Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors finding insufficient evidence to pursue a case.
Attorney and author Lisa Needham wrote Friday that given that Halligan has "already proven more than willing to do whatever Trump says... you can expect to see more of this sort of fact-free, ethically-compromised indictment as Trump works through his enemies list."
Trump pushed out Erik Siebert, Halligan's predecessor, amid his refusal to indict Comey or file mortgage fraud charges against Democratic New York Attorney General Leticia James, who in 2022 filed a civil lawsuit against the then-former president, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization for business fraud. They were found liable for fraud and ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties, although an appeals court later overturned the fine while upholding the fraud findings.
Last month, the DOJ subpoenaed James as part of a probe into whether she violated Trump's civil rights by suing him, his sons, and his business.
Comey's indictment followed mounting pressure from the president and his supporters for embattled US Attorney General Pam Bondi to charge Comey, James, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who as a House lawmaker managed Trump's first impeachment trial in 2020.
"There’s no separation between the Department of Justice and Trump’s desire for retribution," Needham wrote. "However, because, as political science professor Mark Copelovitch puts it, 'Performative public lying is a hallmark of far right authoritarian parties,' both Trump and Bondi are pretending that this is a run-of-the-mill prosecution as opposed to yet another stop on Trump’s vengeance tour."
Other critics allege that, like some other recent administration moves, Comey's indictment is part of an attempt to distract from the harms of Trump's economic policies, his handling of the Epstein documents, and the corruption scandal involving "border czar" Tom Homan allegedly receiving a $50,000 cash bribe.
"The Department of Justice is in full cover-up mode," Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)—who managed Trump's second House impeachment trial—said during a Friday morning interview on CNN. "They're doing the bidding of President Trump with respect to Mr. Comey, they're doing the bidding of President Trump with respect to covering up cases."
"The administration started off by having Trump basically force out the US attorney for New York, another Republican, Danielle Sassoon, because she wouldn't quash a grand jury indictment against [New York City Mayor Eric] Adams because he had become a political friend of Donald Trump's," Raskin continued.
"So what we see is the complete politicization of the Department of Justice," he added. "But we're in the midst of trying to get this information with apparently real crimes and we've got a strong bipartisan majority saying stop the cover-up of the Epstein files, just go ahead and release them."
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Critics Say Trump 'Should Be Impeached' If He Fires US Attorney for Not Charging NY AG
"This would be another red line crossed," said one legal expert.
Sep 19, 2025
Multiple legal experts are expressing alarm at a new report that US President Donald Trump is planning to fire a federal prosecutor for failing to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
ABC News reported on Thursday night that Trump planned to fire Erik Siebert, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, because he could not find sufficient evidence to conclude that James had committed mortgage fraud when she bought a home in the state in 2023.
Siebert was appointed by Trump as US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia just four months ago, and ABC News' source said that "the administration now plans to install a US attorney who would more aggressively investigate James."
James successfully sued Trump for serial financial fraud committed by the Trump Organization back in 2023, and ultimately won a $354 million verdict against him and his business.
Trump has reportedly been pressing the Department of Justice to file charges against James in an apparent retribution campaign, and many legal experts said that going so far as to fire the US attorney investigating her would be a dangerous new step.
Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor and current professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, outlined why Trump firing Siebert would be damaging to the rule of law.
"This would be another red line crossed: Career prosecutors aren’t political people," she wrote on X. "They’re trained to look at the facts and the law and determine whether admissible evidence is sufficient to prove a crime. But Trump wants revenge prosecutions, whether there is evidence or not."
Anthony Foley, former head of public affairs at the US Department of Justice under President Barack Obama, marveled that Trump would fire the man whom he'd appointed simply because he came up empty trying to prosecute a political foe.
"When even the people you appoint say there’s no there there," he wrote. "Good prosecutors are trained to follow the facts... to go where the facts tell them to go. Good prosecutors don’t start investigations with a pre-determined outcome in mind."
Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota and vice-chairman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, also expressed alarm and compared Trump's reported plan to "the way prosecutors are used in dictatorships—to pursue political enemies."
Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth, wrote on Bluesky that Trump "should be impeached and removed from office for this alone" if he goes through with firing Siebert.
Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY), a former federal prosecutor, pointed the finger at his Republican colleagues whom he accused of providing cover for the president.
"You," he wrote on X, "are complicit in Trump’s actions."
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