'The president won't shut up': Why Trump may doom 'vindictive' case against Comey

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (not pictured) during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2025. REUTERS/Al Drago

In the federal courts, criminal cases are rarely dismissed based on arguments of selective prosecution. Judges, more often than not, reject requests from defense attorneys to throw out criminal indictments for being selective or vindictive.

But according to CNN's Devan Cole, the federal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey on two charges — lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding — may be an exception.

President Donald Trump's incessant attacks on Comey, Cole reports, could doom the case.

"As President Donald Trump publicly pressures the Justice Department to bring criminal cases against his perceived enemies," Cole explains in an article published on September 29, "legal experts say former FBI Director James Comey could attempt a rarely successful legal maneuver that allows judges to throw out charges that were unfairly brought…. Trump himself and Hunter Biden both tried and failed to employ the tactic in recent years. But after Trump publicly called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to move more aggressively in her department's pursuit of Comey and others, the former FBI director might have the facts needed to convince a judge to throw out the charges brought against him on Thursday, (October 2)."

John Jones, a retired federal judge, believes that Trump's attacks on Comey are hurting the case against the former FBI director.

Jones told CNN, "It's a better case for Comey, because the president won't shut up. And that's admissible, so he's got a fighting chance, I think, on vindictive prosecution."

Similarly, Shira Scheindlin, a former federal judge, told CNN, "It's clearly vindictive. It's clearly his enemies list…. He's made it so obvious that he's targeting them, regardless of the evidence, that I do think a judge would be far more receptive to probably both concepts, selective prosecution and vindictive."

According to Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor, convincing a judge that a selective or vindictive prosecution is taking place is an uphill battle for defense attorneys.

Eliason told CNN, "It is a very hard motion to win because prosecutors are given a great deal of discretion in deciding what kind of cases to bring and which cases to bring…. You've really got to prove bad motives on the part of the prosecution — that they're really coming at you for some completely improper reason."

Read the full CNN article at this link.

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