BREAKING: TRUMP INDICTS POLITICAL OPPONENT

You're watching the Legal Breakdown. Glenn, we have some major breaking news. here. It looks like the former FBI. director James Comey has been indicted a. second time by the Department of. Justice. So, I want to talk about what. we can expect to see here regarding the. potential success of another prosecution. against James Comey. If this indictment. is regarding the 8647. seashell post, so a post that James. Comey saw on the beach where it just. says 8647. 86 in restaurant parlance. means to nick, to to get rid of. So, to.

get rid of 47, the 47th President Donald. Trump. Pretty banal post. Can you talk about the the possible. success of a lawsuit on such what seems. to me like tenuous grounds? Brian, two things instantly come to. mind. First, James Comey already had a. robust vindictive prosecution defense. the first time around that he didn't. even have to litigate because the case. got thrown out even earlier in the. process because Lindsey Halligan.

unlawfully obtained the indictment. against him. But, he already would have. won a vindictive prosecution argument in. connection with his earlier indictment. where they claimed he lied to Congress. Now, I mean, the vindictive prosecution. defense is all but a lock because what. happened in the interim? Pam Bondi got. fired as attorney general. Why? Well, the inference that I think everybody has. reasonably drawn, it's because she did.

not succeed in prosecuting the innocent, the people that Donald Trump perceives. as his enemies. So, she was introduced. to the undercarriage of the bus and. acting attorney general Todd Blanche. took over. So, you know there was going. to be held to pay for Todd Blanche if he. didn't start indicting the innocent, the. people Donald Trump wanted punished by. hook or by crook. And now what do we. have? A second indictment of James.

Comey. I can't wait to read James. Comey's motion to dismiss based on. vindictive prosecution. You know, desperation to keep your job, thy name. is Todd Blanche. And I have to believe. this indictment is a product of Todd. Blanche wanting desperately not to go. the way of Pam Bondi and being fired. Glenn, I think you and I can both agree. that this is this is the the the peak of.

manufactured outrage, right? And so in. this instance, given the fact that it's. so tenuous, this idea that James Comey. was actually threatening Donald Trump's. life by taking a picture of. seashells that said 8647, and that. somehow that's that's grounds to indict. him, it is just so backwards. How was. the DOJ able to secure an indictment. from a grand jury given the tenuousness. of the case that they have against him?

I don't know. Maybe they brought Lindsey. Halligan out of mothballs and sent her. back in to get another unlawful. indictment of James Comey. I wish I. could say that's obviously a joke, but. with this administration, you never. know. But here's the thing, Brian. I. spent decades going in and out of grand. jury rooms, and I took my responsibility. to both the grand jurors, to the victim. of the crime, to the community, and to. the defendant, the person we were. investigating for suspected criminal. activity. I took all of those.

responsibilities deadly seriously. But. here is the thing. A grand jury indictment is only as good. as the honor and the ethics of the. prosecutor who obtains it, because grand. juries can be very easily led and, more. unfortunately, misled. by an unethical prosecutor, like we saw. with the Lindsey Halligan indictments. against James Comey and Letitia James.

previously. So, you know, this is one. that is going to be so closely. scrutinized, and we don't know anything. about the evidence yet beyond the. reporting that this is based on an. Instagram post where former FBI James. Comey and former, you know, storied. federal prosecutor and US attorney and. various other titles, James Comey took a. picture of some seashells, and those. seashells were positioned to to show.

8647. And he said, "Oh, isn't that funny?". Right? 86, I think was originally born. in the restaurant business where they no. longer had enough food to make a dish. that was on the menu, so they said, "Hey, 86 that off the menu." Or maybe. they no longer needed to have a second. chef in the kitchen. "Hey, 86 the chef. Cut Cut him loose. He can go.". But, you know, in kind of, you know, mafia speak and in Hollywood movies, "Hey, let's 86 the guy." In other words,

let's get rid of him. And for somebody. to say. that the criminal laws contemplate. somebody who takes pictures of of a. phrase that has multiple legitimate. interpretations, it doesn't necessarily. mean kill someone, and to use that, posting a picture of those seashells so. arranged, to bring a federal felony. charge against the former director of.

the FBI is It's beyond laughable. It's. the kind of stuff that will get even. more DOJ attorneys ultimately referred. to bar council, so they can, you know, join the likes of Rudy Giuliani and. Jeffrey Clark and John Eastman and. Kenneth Chesebro. That is the current. membership of the disbarred Trump. lawyers club, and it really does look. like Todd Blanche is now, you know,

guaranteeing himself a referral to bar. counsel in the future, an ethics. investigation for possible sanctions. But it's clear he This is the guy, Brian, who said if Donald Trump fired. me, I would say "Thank you, sir. I love. you.". I mean, you can't make that up. You. know, lapdogs laugh at Todd Blanche, and. it looks like he has now done Donald. Trump's dirty bidding once again, and. somehow had someone convince a grand.

jury to indict James Comey for posting. that picture of seashells. Unless. there's more to it, we don't know. Let. me briefly add this. Now, the reporting, Brian, is that after he posted that. picture on Instagram, the the Secret. Service, I believe, or the FBI wanted to. talk to him about it, and of course he. voluntarily went down and talked to. them. We don't know chapter and verse. what he said, but I think it's. reasonable to infer he said, "I was not. threatening anyone. I didn't intend a.

threat. It was a lighthearted, even. irreverent post that I put up on. Instagram." Now, the only other thing. that they might be able to try to gin up. is a claim that, "Wait a minute, something you said in that interview was. untrue. Therefore, we're going to charge. you with making a false statement to a. federal law enforce- enforcement. official." You know, that is something. that that has been kind of nefariously.

tempted before by this administration. So, you know, we have to wait to really. pour through the indictment, see what. it's all about, but in my view it is. likely all about Todd Blanche trying to. keep his job. You know, a few months back the Trump. administration tried to prosecute. somebody for throwing a sandwich at at a. couple of federal agents. And the jury. in that case obviously threw that out. faster than you could blink. Do you have. confidence that if a jury is able, you. know, to actually be seated in this case.

and they do move forward with this. thing, that they would have the same. reaction to James Comey taking a photo. of some seashells as they did that you. know, as a jury did when they sat and. the Trump administration tried to. convince them that charges were. warranted for somebody who threw some. bread and deli meat at at a fully kitted. out federal agent? Yeah, Brian, it's a. great question. And and before I answer. it, let me just go back to the notorious. sandwich thrower, former Department of.

Justice paralegal Shawn Dunn, who was so. angry that the Trump administration had. militarized the streets of his city and. he was protesting. He got hot and he. tossed a Subway sandwich that bounced. off a police officer's bulletproof vest. First, remember And thank god it was. bulletproof because you just you never. know with the with bread and bread and. and tomatoes and lettuce these days. Yeah, no, well, it was clearly a. hoagie-proof vest. And and and so what. happened first? So the so Jeanine Pirro,

the you know, top prosecutor in DC, the. DC US attorney, goodness help us all, sent the prosecutor to the grand jury. and said, "We want you to indict the. sandwich thrower, Shawn Dunn, for an. 8-year federal felony crime." Have you. ever heard the saying, "Don't make a. federal case out of it"? That was the. poster child for that saying. And you. know what the grand jury did sitting as. the conscience of the community? They. would not be fooled by Jeanine Pirro's.

prosecutor asking them to do the wrong. thing, to obviously overreach in. charging Shawn Dunn, they said, "Get out. of here. We're not indicting Shawn. Dunn." So, what happened? Jeanine Pirro. fumbled forward and brought a very. low-level misdemeanor charge and sent. another prosecutor into court. And now, a second group of citizens, residents of. the District of Columbia, 12 of them, sitting as the trial jury in a wooden.

box in a courtroom down in DC, sitting. again as the conscience of the. community, said, "Are you kidding me? Not guilty." I mean, I suspect that is. exactly what will happen in the. extraordinarily unlikely event that this. Comey case goes to trial. I predict it. won't. I predict, unless there is. blockbuster evidence, maybe if they. caught James Comey on videotape running. out of a bank wearing a mask, holding a.

gun, and carrying a big cartoon sack. with a dollar sign on it because he just. robbed the bank, maybe they could. succeed in convicting him of bank. robbery. But, I have a feeling this case. will never see 12 people sitting in a. jury box because it is very likely going. to be dismissed early on in the process. for vindictive prosecution. I was in. court both times Comey's prior. prosecution got called. I watched James.

Comey's lawyer tap dance all over the. federal prosecutors that were sent in. there on that suicide mission to try to. support what was obviously a vindictive. prosecution. And even before that, an. unlawfully obtained indictment by. Lindsey Halligan. So, listen, this case. will probably go the same way as that. case. And I'll tell you, I think James. Comey will have a robust wrongful.

prosecution lawsuit ultimately to bring. against Donald Trump's dirty DOJ. leadership. Well, we will of course stay. on top of. this prosecution. For those who are. watching, if you want to stay on top of. this and any other legal breaking news, the best way to do that is to subscribe. to both of our channels. I'm going to. put the links right here on the screen. and also in the post description of this. video. If you've not yet subscribed, please go ahead and hit the subscribe. button. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen. And I'm. Glenn Kirschner. You're watching the. legal breakdown.