Former FBI Director James Comey has filed a motion seeking dismissal of the criminal charges against him following his indictment on counts of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
In his filing, Comey asserted that the indictment was driven by what he described as a personal vendetta by President Donald Trump against him, Politico reported:
Comey’s attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called the case “an egregious abuse of power” that can be traced directly to a Sept. 20 social media post by Trump demanding the immediate prosecution of his political enemies, including Comey.
“President Trump posted a statement on social media that provides smoking-gun evidence that this prosecution would not have occurred but for the President’s animus toward Mr. Comey,” Fitzgerald wrote.
The argument was part of a double-barreled attack Comey unleashed Monday, urging a judge to shut down the unusual and hastily brought criminal case, which accuses Comey of lying to Congress during a 2020 Senate hearing focused on the FBI’s investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia.
In addition to one motion calling the case an illegal “vindictive” prosecution, Comey brought a second motion Monday contending that the prosecution was brought by a prosecutor — Trump’s former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan — who had no authority to bring the charges.
“The eleventh-hour appointment of a political ally for the express purpose of prosecuting a longtime critic, accompanied by a social media post pushing the DOJ to indict—is decisive evidence that the government would not have prosecuted Mr. Comey but for his ‘expression of ideas’ that President Trump disliked,” Fitzgerald wrote in the first motion.
One potential vulnerability in Comey’s selective prosecution motion is its reliance, in part, on what his defense team describes as “widespread and corroborated reporting” by news outlets regarding the reported reluctance of multiple career prosecutors to pursue an indictment in the case.
James Comey is trying to rig his own trial. “He can’t testify, he’s my lawyer!” Classic swamp! pic.twitter.com/vAyRyGhh3o
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) October 20, 2025
Comey has pleaded not guilty to the charges and contends that the case against him is politically motivated. His attorneys have described the indictment as a “vindictive and selective prosecution.”
The former FBI director, a central figure in the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, has faced criticism from Republicans who accuse him of attempting to aid Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign by declining to recommend charges against her in the email server investigation.
But here’s the kicker: Joe Biden’s ‘Justice’ Department indicted then-former President Donald Trump twice and was actively pursuing cases that, had they been successful, would have seen the 45th (and now 47th) president put behind bars for the rest of his natural life.
If Biden’s DOJ can do that and sell it as not being “vindictive and selective prosecution,” how does Comey expect his claim to be valid?
