Indictment of ex-FBI chief 'dangerous abuse of power: US lawmakers
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James Comey's indictment sparks backlash as lawmakers and legal experts accuse the US president of abusing the justice system for political retribution.
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Former FBI director James Comey recounts a series of conversations with President Donald Trump as he testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2017 (AP)
While Donald Trump viewed the indictment of his longtime foe, former FBI director James Comey, as "justice in America," legal observers and lawmakers saw something far more troubling.
James Comey, the former FBI director appointed by Barack Obama and later fired by Donald Trump in 2017, was indicted on Thursday. The charges accuse him of lying to Congress five years ago during a hearing on the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, stated that the indictment demonstrates the president is following through on his promise to use the justice system as a weapon against his critics.
“This kind of interference is a dangerous abuse of power. Our system depends on prosecutors making decisions based on evidence and the law, not on the personal grudges of a politician determined to settle scores,” he told The Guardian.
An arm to Trump's retribution campaign
Adam Schiff, the Democratic senator and a former federal prosecutor who played a lead role in Trump’s first impeachment, posted on X that he had never seen such a blatant abuse of the Justice Department, which he characterized as little more than an arm of the president's retribution campaign.
Donald Trump forced out a respected U.S. Attorney because they wouldn't go along with Trump’s demands for political prosecutions.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) September 25, 2025
Less than a week later, his inexperienced handpicked successor brings charges against a member of Trump's enemies list.
In my almost six years as…
In a letter to the attorney general, Pam Bondi, the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee described the firing of Erik Siebert, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the indictment of Comey as the latest steps in President Trump's efforts to reshape the nation's leading law enforcement agency into a weapon focused on punishing his enemies.
Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said it was “crazy” to him that Trump was pursuing a “malicious prosecution” against Comey, especially since the FBI chief’s public revival of an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email use days before the 2016 election is seen as having played a role in Trump’s victory.
“These charges are going to be dismissed. James Comey will win in court. But what it reflects is a broader attack on the rule of law that should frighten every single American, whether you’re a Democrat, an independent or a Republican,” Jeffries stated at the Capitol.
Trump's disdain for the values that 'make America great'
Mike Zamore, who serves as the national director of policy and government affairs at the American Civil Liberties Union, stated that Trump “has yet again proven his disdain for the principles that have actually made America great."
“By undermining the rule of law at each and every turn, threatening individuals who speak out against him, and arresting, investigating, and prosecuting elected officials of the opposition party and others who displease him, the president and his administration have corrupted our system of justice to turn his campaign of retribution into reality,” he said, adding that Trump’s public push to indict Comey amounts to “a grotesque abuse of presidential power," Zamore said, according to The Guardian.
Democratic congressman and House Judiciary Committee member Eric Swalwell warned on CNN that when Democrats regain a majority, they will scrutinize these actions to ensure accountability, stating that prosecutors in local jurisdictions who corruptly bring indictments without evidence to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt will risk their bar licenses.
Norm Eisen, the executive chair of the pro-democracy group Democracy Defenders Fund, warned that the indictment jeopardizes both national security and the safety of every American, displaying the characteristics of a vindictive and meritless prosecution more commonly associated with the totalitarian states the United States once opposed.
“This matters far beyond James Comey. It’s about every citizen’s right to live free from persecution by their own leaders. Criticizing our leaders is a fundamental right, regardless of how much our leaders don’t like it,” he added.
