President Donald Trump’s personal vendetta against James Comey did not lead to his indictment, the Justice Department said in a court filing Monday, urging a judge not to throw out the charges against the former FBI director over Trump’s extraordinary social media post calling for his prosecution.
The claim arose as prosecutors try to undermine Comey’s key defense — that he is being “singled out” for prosecution because he has criticized Trump — and dive further into battle between the Justice Department and Comey over whether the former FBI director was prosecuted simply because he is one of the president’s longtime foes.
“The defendant spins a tale that requires leaps of logic and a big dose of cynicism, then he calls the President’s post a direct admission,” prosecutors wrote.
“None of the President’s social-media posts express a desire for the defendant to be penalized for exercising his First Amendment rights. Far from it,” they continued.
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