Trump Goon Forced to Call for Backup to Prosecute Comey After Office Revolt
DOJ adds two North Carolina prosecutors to Comey case as internal backlash grows.
Al Drago/Al Drago/Getty Images
The Justice Department has added outside prosecutors to James Comey’s case as Donald Trump’s new goon, Lindsey Halligan, reportedly struggles to find staff within her office willing to present the charges.
Ahead of Comey’s arraignment in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday, two assistant U.S. attorneys who usually practice in the Eastern District of North Carolina filed appearances on Tuesday to help prosecute the former FBI director.
The staffing move highlights the bind facing Halligan, 36—the newly installed and inexperienced U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia—who, according to ABC News, has struggled to recruit in-house prosecutors to carry the case forward.
The two lawyers entered an appearance for the government in James Comey's case. Legal journalist Adam Klasfield said there appeared to be no evidence on Pacer that either had prosecuted a case before in the Eastern District of Virginia.
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Comey, 64, was indicted last month on charges of making a false statement and obstruction tied to his 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the FBI’s work—allegations he denies.
The charges came days after the president publicly pressed his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to act “now” against Comey and other rivals.
Halligan, a Trump pick with no prior prosecutorial experience, personally presented evidence to a grand jury after Trump ousted then-U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert.
Lindsey Halligan was part of Donald Trump's 2022 legal team, over allegations that highly classified documents were seized by the FBI from Trump's Florida home.
MARCO BELLO/MARCO BELLO/AFP via Getty Images
Inside EDVA, her arrival has triggered upheaval. Within days, Halligan was reported to have carried out “revenge firings” of two senior prosecutors, which smashed morale in a district that handles sensitive national security matters.
Separately, a senior career attorney has reportedly told colleagues she plans to refuse to press charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James for lack of probable cause—a stance that could cost her her job.
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James Comey, right, in 2017 with President Donald Trump—who, it is fair to say, is not a fan of the former FBI director.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Comey is due to appear at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on Wednesday.
However, he will not be made to do a camera-ready “perp walk,” FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday.
They told Fox News Digital there would be no “theater” around the indictment, calling the rumors “gossip” and a “distraction.”
“We’re not about theater. We’re about producing our results in court,” said Patel. “And that’s what you’re going to see tomorrow start, the revelation of details, and it will be forthcoming in the judicial process as everyone in America is entitled to, including Mr. Comey, and we want him to have his day in court, and it starts tomorrow.”
James Comey, pictured during a remote Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, will have his mugshot and fingerprints taken, according to Playbook.
U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary/Handout via Reuters
This decision appears to be a 180, after an FBI agent was reportedly removed from duty after refusing to stage a perp walk following last month’s indictment of Comey—a move many critics viewed as retaliation by President Trump.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia for comment.
A DOJ spokesman said: “Lindsey Halligan has the full support of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General who are committed to providing any resource, including personnel, required to uphold the law in the Eastern District of Virginia.”
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