Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Tuesday sharply criticized the Justice Department for bringing a second indictment against his former boss, James Comey, calling the move a misuse of resources and a politically motivated attack.
"They actually have real work to do," McCabe told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "It boggles my mind that they're still able to find people inside the department and the FBI, for that matter, if we take the acting attorney general at his word, who would actually spend their time working on this, this thing."
Cooper pressed McCabe on whether the DOJ had a choice in prosecuting the case, to which McCabe replied, "We all have choices at the end of the day."
The indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury in North Carolina, charges Comey with two counts of threatening the life of President Trump. The charges stem from a social media post last May showing seashells arranged to read "86 47," which critics—including the president—interpreted as a call for assassination. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the charges at a press conference, saying, "Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice."
Comey deleted the post after backlash and voluntarily met with Secret Service agents the following day. He has maintained the message was a "political message" and that he was unaware the numbers could be seen as a threat. McCabe questioned the timing and legitimacy of the prosecution. "If there were any legitimacy, if there was even a legitimate argument that that statement was a threat, do you actually think the Secret Service, after having interviewed him the day after the threat was allegedly made, would have allowed Jim Comey to live his life walking around free, doing nothing for the last year?" he asked. "Do you think this guy is actually a legitimate threat to the President of the United States, and you waited a year to arrest him?"
McCabe labeled the DOJ's latest effort an "absolute fraud." The term "86" is commonly used in restaurant slang to mean discard or get rid of, similar to "nix." This is the second time the Trump administration has sought to prosecute Comey. He was indicted last September for false statements and obstruction related to 2020 congressional testimony, but those charges were dismissed due to an unlawfully appointed prosecutor. The administration has appealed that case.
McCabe, who has been a frequent target of Trump's ire for his role in the early stages of the 2016 election interference probe, said he does not expect the president to back down. "He is not going to stop with a case that gets thrown out, because the U.S. attorney didn't work the grand jury correctly, and he's not going to stop because this case will ultimately fail on its own lack of merit as well," McCabe claimed. "This campaign against those people he thinks are enemies will continue until he is gone. Jim Comey knows that as well as anyone, and the rest of us are going to just have to sit here and endure it."
In a video responding to the indictment, Comey maintained his innocence and defiance. "Well, they're back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago, and this won't be the end of it," he said. "But nothing has changed with me. I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let's go."
The case has sparked debate over free speech and prosecutorial discretion. For more context, see Turley's warning that the indictment sets a free speech trap for prosecutors and the DOJ's live press conference unveiling the charges.
