On Wednesday, it was revealed that President Donald Trump’s effort to surveil and prosecute former FBI Director James Comey could backfire, potentially resulting in his impeachment. In a new motion filed by Comey — who has been charged with threatening the president for posting a photo of seashells arranged in the numbers “86 47” — his attorneys noted that Secret Service agents told to surveil the former FBI Director admitted it was “likely illegal.” This could spell doom not only for the case against Comey, but for Trump’s presidency.
According to CBS News, in the motions filed late Tuesday, Comey’s lawyers argue that the case “should be dismissed on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.” The motion also accuses the Secret Service of conducting "illegal electronic surveillance of Mr. Comey at the request of a high-level DOJ official" without a warrant shortly after Comey's spring 2025 Instagram post.
The motion describes a meeting on Air Force One between Trump and Secret Service agents, in which an agent supervisor told the president that his request to electronically surveil Comey was “‘legally’ a ‘bad idea’ because there was no belief of ‘imminent danger to life’ to justify warrantless surveillance." Another agreed that it was "legally questionable" but indicated they “might do it anyway. The next day, the Secret Service conducted that surveillance.”
As CBS reports, “Filings submitted by his lawyers show discussions between Secret Service staff about ‘pinging’ Comey's phone to track its location, which some personnel viewed skeptically, and a request for Verizon to provide location information due to an ‘emergency’ situation ... ’At that time we did not believe that anyone's life was in immediate danger and legally it was a bad idea to ping the phone,’ an unnamed Secret Service official said.” The affidavit filed by Comey’s attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, cited "substantial discovery provided by the Government."
According to George Conway — a lawyer running for Congress who has spent time in Trump’s orbit as the former spouse of one of his top first-term advisors — these revelations could mean not only the end of the case, but the end of Trump’s presidency.
“Way more than enough evidence in these papers not only to get Comey’s charges 86’d before trial in federal district court, but also to get Blanche — and Trump — 86’d at an impeachment trial in the Senate,” posted Conway.
The motion lays out what Comey’s lawyers argue is a clear pattern of “intense bias,” writing, “Here, the government has singled out Mr. Comey for prosecution because President Trump harbors animus toward Mr. Comey and his protected speech, and it has done so in direct response to the president's urgings.”
