“Fatal blow!” Attorney General SINKS his OWN case ON AIR

You're watching the Legal Breakdown. Glenn, it looks like the acting attorney. general may have just dealt a fatal blow. to his own case before it even got. started. So, I'm going to throw to a. clip right here and then we'll discuss. Well, the image, excuse [clears throat]. me, is part of what led to this. indictment. It is worth noting that on. amazon.com, we looked this up, there are. dozens of products with the same. terminology. We're showing it right. here, 8647, being sold and purchased right now. Should individuals selling or buying.

8647 merchandise be concerned that. they're going to be prosecuted by the. DOJ? >> This isn't about a single incident. Okay, this isn't I mean, of course not. That's posted constantly. That phrase is. used constantly. There are constantly. men and women who choose to make. threatening statements against President. Trump. Every one of those statements do. not result in indictments, of course. There are facts, there are. circumstances, there are investigations. that have to take place. And we have. charged dozens and dozens of men and. women this this year with threatening. President Trump and others. So, this.

isn't a new charge we're bringing. Just. to be very clear, you are suggesting the. seashells themselves are not at the root. of this indictment. >> No, I am suggesting that every single. case depends on the investigation that's. done. And of course, the seashells are. part of that case. I mean, that's that's. what the public sees. But without a. doubt, and it should be evident by the. fact that it's been 11 months since the. posting and the indictment, there is an. investigation that takes place. And. that's the result The result of that. investigation is the indictment that was.

returned last week. >> So, again, that was Todd Blanche saying. basically that even as they prosecute. James Comey for his very dangerous 8647. seashell picture, that it's not worth. prosecuting anybody else because it's. just not that important and the phrase. is used, as he says, constantly. So, how. much of a blow is this to his own case? You know, Brian, we just might see. something in the James Comey trial that. we very rarely see. James Comey might. call as his first witness in his defense.

Attorney General Todd Blanche because he. basically handed Comey the defense of. selective prosecution on a silver. platter. You know, Blanche is not very. good at being Donald Trump's. consigliere, you know, the the mob. lawyer to Donald Trump's mob boss figure. because it's like he just put his foot. right in his mouth by saying, "Okay, you. know, 8647 is something we see all day,

every day. It's on the internet. There. are merch shops selling eight 8647. t-shirts. People are displaying that. what? Threat to assassinate the. president on their chest and we don't. prosecute any of them except James. Comey." You know, you really don't have. to be an attorney or a prosecutor or a. judge to to recognize that when you're. only prosecuting one of thousands and.

thousands of people for displaying those. four numbers in a row, 8647, that would be a selective prosecution. But, you know, let me let me crack out a. prop here, Brian, because for years I. taught criminal justice, arrest through. appeal at George Washington University. undergrad. I actually dusted off my old. textbook. One of the things I taught was. selective prosecution. Let me read one. sentence that lays out what the legal.

test is. To win a claim of selective prosecution, a defendant must show that the. prosecutorial policy, or in this case. the decision, was discriminatory both in. its effect and its purpose. Well, if. there was ever a discriminatory. selective prosecution, it is when the. only person to have displayed those four. numbers who is being prosecuted is one.

of Donald Trump's perceived enemies. But, you know, even beyond the defense. of selective prosecution, there is a. separate legal defense of vindictive. prosecution. Now, they are both due. process violations. What do I mean by. that? The Constitution protects us from. our own government and the Supreme Court. has decided that the due process clause, meaning everybody gets due process of.

law, means that your government cannot. selectively prosecute you and it cannot. vindictively prosecute you. Those two. things dovetail for James Comey and this. will probably be the marquee case in the. entire recorded history of the US courts. of a selective and vindictive. prosecution that should be dismissed. with prejudice. And then, frankly, I. hope James Comey considers bringing a.

civil suit for having his rights. violated and I hope he sues the pants. off of Todd Blanche and the Trump. administration. Glenn, this all raises the question. Todd Blanche is not a novice, right? He's not green to the legal profession. He's the acting attorney general of the. United States. Why would he go on. television and undercut his own. prosecution like this? You know, Brian, just because he spent a few years. prosecuting at the Department of Justice. doesn't make him a good, thoughtful,

accomplished, or even ethical. prosecutor. So, you know, he comes. across as a real imbecile. We know why. he's doing it. He is the one who said, "If Donald Trump fired me as attorney. general or acting attorney general, I. would say, 'Yes, sir. Thank you. I love. you.'" I you know, it's no secret that. he is motivated by wanting to kiss. Donald Trump's ass. Um now, why he would.

go on and basically announce, "Of. course, this is a selective. prosecution.". It's because the guy must be an. imbecile. He doesn't know what he's. doing. Better you say nothing and then. try to come up with some kind of a. straight-faced prosecution in court. But, you know what? He can't help. himself. I am assuming Donald Trump. wanted him out, you know, on the Sunday. news shows to to run his mouth about. what a strong case this was against.

James Comey. But, you know, Todd Blanche. is just not a very good, thoughtful. lawyer. Do you think that what we had just heard. Todd Blanche say on national television. is the single biggest piece of evidence. that Comey could use. to prove that this is indeed a. vindictive prosecution? Like, is this Is. this going to be the most damaging piece. of piece of information that the that. Comey's team can put forward? It will be an important piece of.

evidence and information, but I think. really the more probative evidence, the. more compelling evidence will be the. fact that he is the only person who is. being criminally prosecuted for. displaying a picture of those four. numbers in succession and nobody else. is. That really is what proves the. selective nature of this. So, Brian, this will be an important piece of. evidence and really a damning piece of. evidence because it will not only help.

James Comey's selective prosecution. defense, it will expose the Department. of Justice as being completely. rudderless, inept, incompetent on top of. being sort of dirty and nefarious in. doing Donald Trump's unconstitutional. bidding. Glenn, I want to go back into. what you said before, something that. caught my attention, the prospect of a. civil suit. You and I always talk about. the ways in which Donald Trump is. wielding the DOJ against his political. opponents. And oftentimes, this is just.

something that the targets of Trump's. ire have to shoulder. They have to pay. for it financially, mentally, emotionally, and there's really no. recourse here. And so, I'm curious on. the civil suit aspect of this. Can you. talk about what Comey might seek to do. and how that might serve as a blueprint. for other folks who are selectively or. vindictively targeted by this. administration? Yeah, Brian, I see this. as a conspiracy against rights, specifically James Comey's Fifth.

Amendment due process rights. The reason. I call it a conspiracy is because you. can't tell me that, you know, Todd. Blanche and Pam Bondi before him and. Donald Trump are all kind of in cahoots. or in a criminal conspiracy to, you. know, misuse the rule of law, weaponize. the power of the Department of Justice. to punish Donald Trump's perceived. enemies. And so, I I think James Comey. will have, you know, not just a. straight-faced lawsuit to pursue, but.

potentially a winning lawsuit because. ordinarily government officials have a. healthy dose of immunity against. prosecution. However, they only enjoy. that immunity when they're doing their. job honestly, honorably, ethically. They. are acting within the scope of their. official duties. And there is something. that is never within the scope of the. official duties of a prosecutor. It's to. bring baseless, evidence-free, unsupportable,

vindictive prosecutions because the. president wants you to. That is when you. have abandoned your official. governmental duties as a prosecutor and. that's why you will be open to civil. liability and a potentially successful. civil suit. So, I hope to heck James. Comey, who has now been twice. prosecuted, probably both cases will be. dismissed long before they ever see the. inside of a of a jury courtroom. And I.

think one of the ways to hold a runaway. corrupt administration accountable is by. suing them in their personal capacity, so they have to pay a money judgment if. one is awarded by a jury out of their. own pocket, not out of the government's. coffers, which are filled courtesy of. our tax dollars. You spoke about the. prospect of of suing these people in. their personal capacity. Is it also. probable or likely or possible. that these folks who are engaged in this.

process because this is them abusing. their official roles that they could be. disbarred as the result of bringing. these actions against someone like James. Comey? Yeah, Brian, I don't see a path for Todd. Blanche to escape a bar council ethics. investigation in New York, I believe, where I think he is barred by by the New. York State Bar. You know, this is like. big-ticket unethical conduct for a. lawyer, and New York will have every. reason to want to investigate. And you.

know, if they find he engaged in. unethical conduct, consider what. sanction should be appropriate. I would. say the only appropriate sanction for an. acting attorney general who has so. abused both the rule of law and the. constitutional rights of others is. disbarment. That is a man who has no. business holding a license to practice. law. Last question here, Glenn. On this. point of of suing these people, if we. see. that the administration has gone after.

everybody from James Comey, Letitia. James, Tim Walls, Jacob Frey, I mean, you name it. The list is growing what. feels like on a daily basis. Is there a. world in which all of these plaintiffs. or parties can come together and and. engage in a class action lawsuit against. this administration? Or because they've. all been prosecuted for something. different, would they have to go at it. alone? Yeah, so I was never a civil. litigator. I've never tried to put a. class together and have a judge certify. it pursuant to a class action lawsuit.

My sense is these would all be. individual plaintiffs who would bring. their own lawsuits. I don't think it's. like an entire class as the birthright. citizenship case lends itself to a class. because what you have there was Donald. Trump trying to deny the constitutional. guarantee of birthright citizenship to. literally every child born in the United. States on or after, I believe it's. February 20th, 2025 when his unlawful,

unconstitutional executive order was to. go into effect, and a judge certified. that entire class of infants born and. yet to be born. So, that is the kind of. case that lends itself to a class action. when you have to sweep in lots and lots. and lots of people to participate in the. litigation. But I don't see the. vindictive prosecution, selective. prosecution. um. cases to really lend themselves to a.

class action. I think it would be more. appropriate for, you know, whoever was. impacted to bring a lawsuit in their own. personal capacity. Okay. Well, look, as. far as this ongoing saga between the. Trump administration and James Comey is. concerned, as well as any other. vindictive prosecutions brought at the. hands of this DOJ, we will of course. stay on top of them. For those who are. watching, if you'd like to follow along, the best way to do so is to subscribe to. both of our channels. I'm going to put. those links right here on the screen and. also in the post description of this.

video. If you haven't yet subscribed, it's 100% free to do so, but a great way. to support our work and independent. media. So, again, just click subscribe. on those links. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen. And I'm Glenn Kirschner. You're watching. the Legal Breakdown.