Comey indictment is ‘unprecedented’ and ‘vindictive’, says former prosecutorpublished at 02:32 BST
02:32 BST
Former prosecutor Laurie Levenson has just spoken to the BBC and says Comey’s indictment is “unprecedented” and “troubling”.
“It is troubling because the prior prosecutor who evaluated this case said they did not have evidence to prove it,” she said.
“Everything about this smacks of vindictive prosecution.”
Levenson says Comey’s indictment appears “retaliatory” and “tit-for-tat at a very high level”, going further than even President Richard Nixon’s political “enemies list”.
When asked what this means for the safeguards against White House interference with the Department of Justice, Levenson says: “That wall has completely collapsed and it collapsed with this case,” she said.
If convicted, Comey could face prison time, but Levenson says the challenge for prosecutors is to prove that Comey’s statements to Congress in 2020 were false.
“Especially when you take into account what James Comey was thinking and what his intent was at the time,” she said
“Even if James Comey got things wrong, that doesn’t mean he knowingly or intentionally lied to Congress.”
Levenson says it’s still unclear what evidence was presented to the grand jury that made them agree to go ahead with the indictment.