Ex-prosecutor warns Trump ‘justice is coming’ after he scrubs damning post

A former federal prosecutor says Donald Trump can delete his posts, but he can’t delete the record. One of his most damaging Truth Social posts is already locked away in court files, where it could come back to haunt him.

Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney, flagged in her Civil Discourse newsletter that Trump has scrubbed a year-old post in which he told then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to speed up prosecutions of people he saw as political enemies. She quoted commentator Adam Mockler, who made note of the deletion on X.

In the now-deleted post, Trump appeared to pressure Bondi to prosecute James Comey, Adam Schiff and Leticia James.

Vance said that despite the deletion, the post has been entered into legal pleadings, including the motions arguing that the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey was vindictive and selective. Those filings, she noted, preserve the post permanently along with any others.

A vindictive prosecution claim hinges on whether the government went after a defendant out of animus. She said Trump’s direction to Bondi in the post is evidence for defense attorneys who are out to prove his prosecutions, like the Comey case, are vindictive.

Vance believes Trump’s timing on hitting the delete button is no coincidence and comes after the Democrats push the GOP out of Congress in the midterms by gaining the House and the Senate. Trump has said he is willing to work with the new majority. Vance wrote that “Trump is likely motivated more by fear than sincerity” because he knows accountability is coming.

In her view, Trump’s sudden outreach looks less like sincerity and more like fear from a president who knows what is coming for him.

“Justice is coming, even if it has taken far too long,” Vance wrote.

She also pointed to remarks Justice Sonia Sotomayor made on Saturday, when the justice said:

“I think we’re in a rough patch right now. There’s so many challenges to it [the rule of law] on so many different levels. This is a really critical point in our history. Is it going to end tomorrow? No. It’s going to take some hard work. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to put us back on an even keel. I’m hoping it’s … in my lifetime. But even if it’s not in my lifetime, I genuinely believe it will happen.”

Trump may soon find that his deleted posts get a second life outside court, too. When the new Congress is seated on Jan. 3, Rep. Robert Garcia of California is expected to take over the House Oversight Committee, which has the power to investigate the administration. Vance called out Attorney General Todd Blanche, accusing him of not understanding his job and calling for his impeachment “as soon as possible.”

She referenced Blanche’s comments on Fox, in which he said he is Stephen Miller’s lawyer in response to threats from Congressman Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, who said congressional investigations are coming for them. She reminded Blanche, “You’re the people’s lawyer. You’re no longer Donald Trump’s criminal defense lawyer.”

While there is no doubt indictments are coming, it is yet to be seen how Trump and his allies respond.