'Terrible' look for Trump: Security expert tears apart DOJ’s new Comey indictment

CNN reported on Tuesday that the Justice Department has indicted former FBI Director James Comey for the second time, two sources confirmed to the network.

The DOJ attempted to bring a similar case in the Eastern District of Virginia last year, but the effort failed as the interim U.S. attorney refused to put his name on it. Instead, he resigned, and a new one was appointed. She then indicted Comey.

CNN noted that the actual indictment isn't online yet, so it's unclear what charges they intend to use to go after Comey. Reporters noted there were allegations of an assassination threat because Comey posted a photo of sea shells he saw on the beach on May 15, 2025, that spelled out numbers that President Donald Trump allies claimed were a threat. The other possible charge relates to a comment Comey made in 2017 in testimony before the U.S. Senate over Zoom about who he told about issues related to Trump.

National security lawyer Bradley P. Moss told CNN that he doubts that the indictment will stick, but explained that it isn't the purpose. He said that what Trump wants is the "spectacle" and the "headline."

"It's going to look terrible for the Justice Department and its reputation, no doubt," he said.

CNN's Boris Sanchez added that these retaliatory lawsuits also cost the target a lot of money to defend themselves.

Crime and Justice reporter Katelyn Polantz said the major legal question will be where these charges originate. The Eastern District of Virginia may not be willing to go there again, while other jurisdictions in conservative areas might. When Comey posted the image to his Instagram with the shells, it was unclear what beach he and his wife were walking on.

Polantz also said that there has been an investigation going on in South Florida "around a broad swath of the Russia investigation many years ago, starting back in 2016, an investigation Comey had worked on until Donald Trump fired him as his FBI director." So, it's entirely possible that they are using that case.

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, Donald," Moss mocked Trump. "Eventually you'll get him."

When addressing the possible charges that Polantz suggested, Moss implied that they were absurd.

"Those would be a joke. You know, the pretrial motions write themselves. A third-year law student can get those tossed, let alone the, you know, the top team he'll have defending him," said Moss.

He also acknowledged that this could be the "first shot" coming out of the grand jury in South Florida where the DOJ is trying to connect "some sort of grand conspiracy charge" out of the Russia probe.

" It will be fascinating to see if they are. It's riddled with legal problems, waiting to see what the indictment shows. But I am not by any means impressed by this maneuver," Moss continued.

The other thing he said will be interesting to see is whether former Attorney General Pam Bondi previously refused to bring these charges and if Blanche is the reason that they're being brought now.