Comey
(Getty
Images)
You
can’t
overstate
the
importance
of
the
indictment
of
former
FBI
Director
James
Comey.
Despite
the
weak
protests
of
the
Vice
President,
the
move
smacks
of
bald
faced
political
retribution
on
evidence
so
flimsy
Erik
Siebert,
the
career
prosecutor
—
appointed
by
Donald
Trump,
no
less
—
at
the
Eastern
District
of
Virginia
was
forced
out
of
his
job
for
refusing
to
bring
these
personally
motivated
charges
(and
ones
against
another
Trump
enemy,
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James).
Siebert
was
replaced
by
Trump
flunkie
Lindsey
Halligan,
who
I’d
refer
to
as
deeply
unserious
if
she
didn’t
wield
so
much
undeserved
power.
And,
she’s
already
objectively
embarrassing
at
her
job.
Former
White
House
attorney
and
current
thorn
in
Donald
Trump’s
side
Ty
Cobb
told
MSNBC’s
Alex
Witt
“we
should
be
scared
to
death”
over
the
indictment
and
the
obvious
threat
it
poses
to
democracy.
There’s
“justifiable
paranoia”
that
others
who
have
crossed
the
president
will
also
be
churned
through
the
criminal
justice
system
as
the
president
keeps
pushing
these
vendettas.
Given
the
sky
high
stakes
of
the
case,
many
are
wondering
who
is
handling
Comey’s
criminal
case?
Repping
Comey
is
Michigan
solo
practitioner
Patrick
Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald
is
a
retired
Skadden
partner
who
previously
represented
Comey
after
he
was
fired
by
Trump
as
FBI
Director.
He
has
a
long
personal
history
with
Comey
and
the
two
met
when
they
were
with
the
U.S.
Attorney’s
office
in
Manhattan.
That’s
right,
unlike
Halligan,
the
defense
team
actually
has
prosecutorial
experience!
In
fact,
Fitzgerald
led
a
number
of
high
profile
prosecutions
including
those
against
former
Illinois
governors
George
Ryan
and
Rod
Blagojevich, 1993
World
Trade
Center
bombing
mastermind
Sheikh
Omar
Abdel
Rahman,
and
Dick
Cheney’s
Chief
of
Staff
Scooter
Libby.
Comey
also
has
local
counsel
in
Jessica
Carmichael,
one
of
the
founders
of
Virginia-based
Carmichael
Ellis
&
Brock
with
previous
experience
in
the
Federal
Public
Defender’s
Office.
Comey
has
expressed
confidence
in
the
legal
system
posting
on
Instagram
that
he’s
“not
afraid,
and
I
hope
you’re
not
either.”
Though
he
noted,
“My
heart
is
broken
for
the
Department
of
Justice,
but
I
have
great
confidence
in
the
federal
judicial
system,
and
I’m
innocent.
So
let’s
have
a
trial
and
keep
the
faith.”
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].