'A grave new period': NYT rips Trump in scathing editorial

After the news broke that a grand jury had indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two federal charges — lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding — many legal analysts on MSNBC, including former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade and ex-FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann, argued that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had an incredibly weak case. Weissmann described the indictment as "thin" but found it incredibly disturbing nonetheless.

In an editorial published on Friday, September 26, the New York Times' editorial board warns that with the Comey indictment, President Donald Trump is taking his thirst for revenge to a new level.

"The events of the past week in Virginia mark a dark new stage in President Trump's effort to turn federal law enforcement into a personal tool of oppression and vengeance," the Times editorial board emphasizes. "He is undermining a core promise of the American justice system: the fair and equal enforcement of the law. On Thursday evening, his handpicked federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, obtained an indictment of the former FBI director, James Comey, on highly dubious charges. The indictment came just four days after Mr. Trump installed her on an interim basis and just days before the statute of limitations on the charges would have expired."

The board continues, "He chose Ms. Halligan — his former personal attorney, who had no prosecutorial experience — for her willingness to be compliant. The president forced out her predecessor, Erik Siebert, after he refused to file charges in the Comey case and another one. Mr. Siebert's staff spent months investigating before deciding there were no grounds for indictment. Mr. Trump responded with a social media post pronouncing Mr. Comey 'guilty as hell' and vowed that Ms. Halligan would see to the prosecution of the cases in a way that her 'woke' predecessor refused to do."

Trump, the Times editorial board warns, "has now gone beyond ordering investigations to dictating their outcome."

"He has removed any pretense that the law is blind," the Times board laments. "As despots have done for centuries, he is persecuting people he considers his enemies, with little justification other than raw political power. It is reminiscent of the old royal notion 'L'état, c'est moi.' I am the state…. Mr. Comey is one person on a Trump enemies list."

The board continues, "The president has also called for the prosecution of Letitia James, the New York attorney general who won a judgment against the Trump Organization for financial fraud, and Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who led Mr. Trump's first impeachment in the House of Representatives. Mr. Trump says they should be prosecuted for supposedly lying on mortgage applications — the same pretext he is using to attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's board of governors…. Misusing the power to imprison people is uniquely chilling in a free society. Our country has entered a grave new period of injustice."

Read the full New York Times editorial at this link (subscription required).