{"id":166181,"date":"2026-10-27T08:05:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T16:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/27\/after-maurene-comey-kicked-trump-admin-in-the-teeth-doj-reveals-third-attempt-to-jail-james-comey\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T08:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T16:05:06","slug":"after-maurene-comey-kicked-trump-admin-in-the-teeth-doj-reveals-third-attempt-to-jail-james-comey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/27\/after-maurene-comey-kicked-trump-admin-in-the-teeth-doj-reveals-third-attempt-to-jail-james-comey\/","title":{"rendered":"After Maurene Comey Kicked Trump Admin In The Teeth, DOJ Reveals *Third* Attempt To Jail James Comey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump Justice Department spent Monday getting its ass kicked by one Comey and countered by revealing it charged the other. The administration has charged James Comey for a THIRD time, continuing to chase the former FBI Director as Seashellgate<\/a> flops.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with the loss. In a 55-page decision<\/a>, Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the July 2025 firing of Maurene Comey violated the separation of powers and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Comey the Younger had been an SDNY prosecutor since 2015, working on such high-profile matters as the Sean Combs, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell cases. For some<\/em> reason, her her dogged pursuit of sex offenders wasn\u2019t seen as an asset to this White House.<\/p>\n

Go figure!<\/p>\n

Anyway, Judge Furman retroactively reinstated her and ordered back pay from the firing through December 20, the date when she took a job with Patterson Belknap<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The firing memo never gave a reason. It just announced that she was being removed:<\/p>\n

\n

Pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Judge Furman called the DOJ\u2019s position a \u201csweeping and unprecedented theory of executive authority,\u201d a fair description of a firing that couldn\u2019t be bothered to fabricate an excuse. Indeed, the government\u2019s only nod toward justification came the same day DOJ filed its answer<\/em> in May, when the Acting Attorney General produced a memo<\/a> to \u201cratify and affirm\u201d the removal.<\/p>\n

In court, DOJ argued that line prosecutors can be removed without cause by either the president or the Attorney General on the theory that executive power can be as arbitrary and capricious as the Oval Office wants. The department leaned on the Supreme Court\u2019s June decision letting the president fire independent agency members without cause \u2014 a decision that baselessly blew up a precedent that had stood for more than 90 years \u2014 to argue that everyone<\/em> within the government can be fired on a whim.<\/p>\n

Except a prosecutor isn\u2019t an agency commissioner. Congress has regulated how inferior officers get removed for a very long time and Judge Furman correctly noted that the administration was trying to \u201cupend\u201d that settled law. <\/p>\n

DOJ says it will appeal \u201cin due course.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n

The DOJ hoped to drown out headlines of this Comey debacle by unveiling another one \u2014 unsealing more charges against James Comey.<\/p>\n

In a case before Judge Trevor McFadden, the government asserts two counts against James Comey for transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit it<\/a>, over a sensitive national security document he allegedly leaked as FBI director in October 2016<\/a>. <\/p>\n

What was it? Something about a NY Times article in 2016 about Yahoo\u2019s spam filter. But it\u2019s worth noting that October 2016 was also when Comey informed Congress that he needed to check Anthony Weiner\u2019s laptop to see if there were any Hillary emails missed in the earlier investigation (there weren\u2019t). So now the Trump admin is charging Comey over leaks that happened at the same time another leak he was caught up in helped put Trump in the White House in the first place.<\/p>\n

And they say irony is dead.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re wondering how the DOJ charges someone for a crime well past the statute of limitations\u2026 congratulations! For its part, the DOJ didn\u2019t even try to get an indictment, opting instead for a sealed \u201cwaiverless criminal information,\u201d filed on October 5, to stop the statute of limitations from running. Since the DOJ would need to get a grand jury to agree to their latest conspiracy theory before the statute runs, prosecutors hope to use the information to toll the limitations period while they get their ducks in a row. Which is why the now-unsealed document reads like Todd Blanche is grasping for all the straws. Prosecutors leaned on this \u201cinformation to stop the statute of limitations\u201d tactic during COVID, when grand juries literally couldn\u2019t meet, an exigency that\u2019s presently lacking.<\/p>\n

Grand juries sit in D.C. right now\u2026 they just keep refusing to indict people when the DOJ can\u2019t produce any evidence<\/a>. <\/p>\n

So one can understand why the DOJ is reticent to put their latest accusation through the crucible of a grand jury. Better to fling vague allegations at the wall, generate the headlines they want, and then slowly slink away. Which, as it happens, was the exact motivation behind congressional Republicans leaking Comey\u2019s quick Hillary email follow up in October 2016<\/a>. He told Congress then that there was almost certainly nothing to the unearthed emails that he hadn\u2019t already dismissed months earlier, but they ran to the public with the news anyway. <\/p>\n

Then, because this administration can\u2019t do anything without running face first into a rake, the DOJ filed a \u201cNotice of Correction of Scrivener\u2019s Errors\u201d<\/a> to fix the boneheaded errors in the document. To be clear, during the three weeks this lived under seal, there\u2019s been a hearing, a motion to dismiss<\/a>, and the DOJ\u2019s own 51-page response<\/a>. Only now, that the public gets to read the charging document, did someone notice it needs fixing. <\/p>\n

Because, like the aforementioned \u201cratify and affirm\u201d memo in the Maurene Comey case, this Department fills out all its permission slips after the field trip.<\/p>\n

So Jim Comey begins round 3. First came Lindsey Halligan\u2019s false statements case, brought after career prosecutors advised against it. That was dismissed<\/a> because Halligan was never legally in the job. The administration tried to pinch Comey for taking pictures of seashells<\/a> in a case that\u2019s been pushed to January 2027<\/a> with ripe vindictive and selective prosecution motions on deck. Now this decade-old leak charge.<\/p>\n

But the two halves of Monday are really one story. This DOJ believes it\u2019s unbound by the rule of law. It thinks it can fire someone because the president is mad at their family (and it doesn\u2019t hurt that she knew a lot about Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s circle of friends\u2026). And it thinks it can just wave its hands to get around the statute of limitations based on vague assertions. <\/p>\n

The DOJ is just a bunch of arbitrary and vindictive actions piled on top of typos. <\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: James Comey Indicted For Playing With Sea Shells In New Low Point For DOJ Integrity<\/a>
Maureen Comey Tries To 86 47\u2019s Firing Her<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post After Maurene Comey Kicked Trump Admin In The Teeth, DOJ Reveals *Third* Attempt To Jail James Comey<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Trump Justice Department spent Monday getting its ass kicked by one Comey and countered by revealing it charged the other. The administration has charged James Comey for a THIRD time, continuing to chase the former FBI Director as Seashellgate<\/a> flops.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with the loss. In a 55-page decision<\/a>, Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the July 2025 firing of Maurene Comey violated the separation of powers and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Comey the Younger had been an SDNY prosecutor since 2015, working on such high-profile matters as the Sean Combs, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell cases. For some<\/em> reason, her her dogged pursuit of sex offenders wasn\u2019t seen as an asset to this White House.<\/p>\n

Go figure!<\/p>\n

Anyway, Judge Furman retroactively reinstated her and ordered back pay from the firing through December 20, the date when she took a job with Patterson Belknap<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The firing memo never gave a reason. It just announced that she was being removed:<\/p>\n

\n

Pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Judge Furman called the DOJ\u2019s position a \u201csweeping and unprecedented theory of executive authority,\u201d a fair description of a firing that couldn\u2019t be bothered to fabricate an excuse. Indeed, the government\u2019s only nod toward justification came the same day DOJ filed its answer<\/em> in May, when the Acting Attorney General produced a memo<\/a> to \u201cratify and affirm\u201d the removal.<\/p>\n

In court, DOJ argued that line prosecutors can be removed without cause by either the president or the Attorney General on the theory that executive power can be as arbitrary and capricious as the Oval Office wants. The department leaned on the Supreme Court\u2019s June decision letting the president fire independent agency members without cause \u2014 a decision that baselessly blew up a precedent that had stood for more than 90 years \u2014 to argue that everyone<\/em> within the government can be fired on a whim.<\/p>\n

Except a prosecutor isn\u2019t an agency commissioner. Congress has regulated how inferior officers get removed for a very long time and Judge Furman correctly noted that the administration was trying to \u201cupend\u201d that settled law. <\/p>\n

DOJ says it will appeal \u201cin due course.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n

The DOJ hoped to drown out headlines of this Comey debacle by unveiling another one \u2014 unsealing more charges against James Comey.<\/p>\n

In a case before Judge Trevor McFadden, the government asserts two counts against James Comey for transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit it<\/a>, over a sensitive national security document he allegedly leaked as FBI director in October 2016<\/a>. <\/p>\n

What was it? Something about a NY Times article in 2016 about Yahoo\u2019s spam filter. But it\u2019s worth noting that October 2016 was also when Comey informed Congress that he needed to check Anthony Weiner\u2019s laptop to see if there were any Hillary emails missed in the earlier investigation (there weren\u2019t). So now the Trump admin is charging Comey over leaks that happened at the same time another leak he was caught up in helped put Trump in the White House in the first place.<\/p>\n

And they say irony is dead.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re wondering how the DOJ charges someone for a crime well past the statute of limitations\u2026 congratulations! For its part, the DOJ didn\u2019t even try to get an indictment, opting instead for a sealed \u201cwaiverless criminal information,\u201d filed on October 5, to stop the statute of limitations from running. Since the DOJ would need to get a grand jury to agree to their latest conspiracy theory before the statute runs, prosecutors hope to use the information to toll the limitations period while they get their ducks in a row. Which is why the now-unsealed document reads like Todd Blanche is grasping for all the straws. Prosecutors leaned on this \u201cinformation to stop the statute of limitations\u201d tactic during COVID, when grand juries literally couldn\u2019t meet, an exigency that\u2019s presently lacking.<\/p>\n

Grand juries sit in D.C. right now\u2026 they just keep refusing to indict people when the DOJ can\u2019t produce any evidence<\/a>. <\/p>\n

So one can understand why the DOJ is reticent to put their latest accusation through the crucible of a grand jury. Better to fling vague allegations at the wall, generate the headlines they want, and then slowly slink away. Which, as it happens, was the exact motivation behind congressional Republicans leaking Comey\u2019s quick Hillary email follow up in October 2016<\/a>. He told Congress then that there was almost certainly nothing to the unearthed emails that he hadn\u2019t already dismissed months earlier, but they ran to the public with the news anyway. <\/p>\n

Then, because this administration can\u2019t do anything without running face first into a rake, the DOJ filed a \u201cNotice of Correction of Scrivener\u2019s Errors\u201d<\/a> to fix the boneheaded errors in the document. To be clear, during the three weeks this lived under seal, there\u2019s been a hearing, a motion to dismiss<\/a>, and the DOJ\u2019s own 51-page response<\/a>. Only now, that the public gets to read the charging document, did someone notice it needs fixing. <\/p>\n

Because, like the aforementioned \u201cratify and affirm\u201d memo in the Maurene Comey case, this Department fills out all its permission slips after the field trip.<\/p>\n

So Jim Comey begins round 3. First came Lindsey Halligan\u2019s false statements case, brought after career prosecutors advised against it. That was dismissed<\/a> because Halligan was never legally in the job. The administration tried to pinch Comey for taking pictures of seashells<\/a> in a case that\u2019s been pushed to January 2027<\/a> with ripe vindictive and selective prosecution motions on deck. Now this decade-old leak charge.<\/p>\n

But the two halves of Monday are really one story. This DOJ believes it\u2019s unbound by the rule of law. It thinks it can fire someone because the president is mad at their family (and it doesn\u2019t hurt that she knew a lot about Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s circle of friends\u2026). And it thinks it can just wave its hands to get around the statute of limitations based on vague assertions. <\/p>\n

The DOJ is just a bunch of arbitrary and vindictive actions piled on top of typos. <\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: James Comey Indicted For Playing With Sea Shells In New Low Point For DOJ Integrity<\/a>
Maureen Comey Tries To 86 47\u2019s Firing Her<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post After Maurene Comey Kicked Trump Admin In The Teeth, DOJ Reveals *Third* Attempt To Jail James Comey<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump Justice Department spent Monday getting its ass kicked by one Comey and countered by revealing it charged the other. The administration has charged James Comey for a THIRD time, continuing to chase the former FBI Director as Seashellgate flops. Let\u2019s begin with the loss. In a 55-page decision, Judge Jesse Furman ruled that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}