Former FBI Director James Comey will appear in court Wednesday morning for his first appearance after an indictment for alleged false statements and obstruction of Congress. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
"The indictment in this case arises from multiple glaring constitutional violations and an egregious abuse of power by the federal government," his lawyers said in the filing.
Trump ordered the Justice Department to prosecute Comey after taking office for a second time "because of personal spite and because Mr. Comey has frequently criticized the president for his conduct in office," they said.
"When no career prosecutor would carry out those orders, the president publicly forced the interim U.S. attorney to resign and directed the Attorney General to effectuate ‘justice’ against Mr. Comey," his lawyers said.
It was one of two extraordinary motions to dismiss the case against Comey that his lawyers filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, who is overseeing the case in Alexandria.
The other motion asked Judge Nachmanoff to dismiss the case against Comey due to what they argued was Trump’s "unlawful" appointment of Lindsey Halligan, his former personal lawyer, as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Trump in September announced he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Comey's lawyers noted Monday that Halligan's appointment was made just three days before Comey's indictment.
The official "who purported to secure and sign the indictment was invalidly appointed to her position as interim U.S. Attorney," they told the judge.
"Because of that fundamental constitutional and statutory defect, the indictment is a nullity and must be dismissed. That dismissal must be with prejudice in order to deter the government’s willfully unlawful conduct."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In order to establish prosecutorial "vindictiveness," Comey must provide evidence to the court that prosecutors were both acting with genuine animus toward the defendant, and that the defendant would not have been prosecuted but for that animus.
This is a developing news story. Check back shortly for updates.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/james-comey-seeks-dismiss-his-criminal-case-citing-vindictive-prosecution