MS NOW-The Comey indictment is just one way the DOJ is being newly weaponized

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Within the last 24 hours, the DOJ has demanded the courts reverse course on President Donald Trump’s ballroom, executed search warrants in Minnesota and indicted a former top aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/news/the-comey-indictment-is-just-one-way-the-doj-is-being-newly-weaponized

For months, legal circles have been abuzz with rumors that the Justice Department, undeterred by the dismissal of its first case against former FBI Director James Comey and its inability to secure a second indictment on the same allegations, would indict Comey again for other reasons.

On Tuesday, those rumors became reality when the DOJ indicted Comey in the Eastern District of North Carolina because of his May 2025 social media post of a picture of seashells arranged to read “86 47.” For that, the DOJ has indicted Comey for threatening the life of a president and further, for making a threat to injure another person — also the president — via “interstate communications.” Each count is punishable by a sizable fine, no more than five years in prison or both. ....

Consider other DOJ developments within the last 24 hours:

Late Monday night, in a filing that read like a Trump-written social media screed, not a legal argument, the DOJ demanded that the federal judge overseeing the White House ballroom case reverse a ruling blocking above-ground construction on the ballroom. The DOJ filing was both curious and unnecessary because a federal appeals court has stayed that ruling for at least several weeks, meaning construction can resume as the appeal continues. Nonetheless, the DOJ filing — rife with capitalized words, exclamation points, political epithets and unsupported factual assertions — not only suggested Trump cannot continue construction, but framed the ballroom project as “vital to our National Security, and the Safety of all Presidents of the United States, both current and future, their families, staff, and cabinet members.”

Then, early Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported that the FBI and the DOJ executed search warrants on 20-plus businesses in Minneapolis as part of a wide-reaching federal fraud investigation into the use of federal social services funds. Trump himself has not only commented on that investigation, a departure from usual presidential protocol, but he has also publicly accused several of the state’s top Democratic officials — Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rep. Ilhan Omar — all of whom have been his political foils, if not his electoral opponents, of being “complicit” in that fraud.

Later, in Maryland federal court, the DOJ indicted a former senior aide to the former National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases head, Dr. Anthony Fauci. There, the government alleged not only that David M. Morens destroyed and/or evaded creating government records by using personal emails, but also that he conspired with Chinese researchers to counter the emerging thesis that Covid-19 was unleashed through a lab leak, thereby limiting the information available to decision-makers, including Trump. In a press release announcing the charges, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche alleged that the aide “deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19” before giving a hint about what has really undergirded the case: His belief that NIH officials were obligated to “provide honest, well-ground facts and advice,” not “advance their own personal or ideological agendas.”

And finally, on Tuesday afternoon, the DOJ unsealed the bare-bones, three-page Comey indictment.

Collectively, these developments highlight that there is a new sheriff in town. And indeed,Blanche, who appears to be publicly auditioning to become Trump’s permanent attorney general, has advanced investigations and cases against the president’s enemies and detractors as rapidly as he has aggressively.

Against that backdrop, the new indictment against Comey hardly seems to be a slam dunk for the DOJ — or Blanche.

But if the process itself is the punishment, and the thing the man Blanche has described as the DOJ’s “boss” craves, Blanche achieved multiple wins — and not just a new Comey indictment — on a random Tuesday in April.

And days like this might be enough to keep him at the attorney general’s desk.

Blanche is making Bondi look ethical in comparison. Blanche really wants the AG job and is going all out to get the nomination

[Lovie777]

1. Over stepping......

will not fair well.

No wonder majority of Americans dislike the current administration and the Republican Party.

[misanthrope]

2. One suggestion

The better way of stating this is that the DOJ is being "further weaponized." It isn't "newly weaponized" since this has been happening since Trump returned to office over a year ago.

[allegorical oracle]

3. Whether it's tormenting Comey or harassing Kimmel, djt is running his show

like a mob boss. If a store owner won't obey the mob boss's orders, then the owner gets beaten half to death. That ensures all the other store owners pay up. Roy Cohn would be proud of his student.

[malaise]

4. Newly?

This is madness on steroids

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. MaddowBlog-The case against Comey will almost certainly fail. For Trump, that's not the point.

The new indictment against the former FBI director checks a set of boxes for the president, none of which has anything to do with securing a conviction.

The case against Comey will obviously fail, but a conviction isn’t the point. For Trump, the indictment:

- makes clear that he can prosecute his enemies based on nothing but his whims, without regard for merit or evidence
- scares other prosecutors into obedience
- imposes hardships on a foe

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-29T13:01:38.440Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/the-case-against-comey-will-almost-certainly-fail-for-trump-thats-not-the-point

What’s more, the idea that prosecutors might eventually secure a conviction in this case is ludicrous on its face, though that’s almost certainly the point of this corrupt exercise. In her latest column, Barbara McQuade, a former Michigan U.S. attorney and an MS NOW legal analyst, explained:

Even if the Justice Department cannot convict Comey, prosecutors can make his life miserable for several months by forcing him to pay for a lawyer, occupy his time and attention, emotionally exhaust his family and disparage his reputation.

To be sure, I don’t doubt that the president and those who are doing his bidding would be delighted to see Comey found guilty, but given how pitiful the case is, that’s unrealistic.

There’s no reason to assume, however, that a conviction is Trump’s intended endpoint. On the contrary, given the broader context, the new indictment checks a different set of boxes for the Republican president.

First, Trump appears eager to make it clear that he can orchestrate federal prosecutions based entirely on his whims and petty desires, without regard for merit or evidence. There is, for all intents and purposes, a White House enemies list, and the president seems eager to intimidate and instill fear on those whose names appear on it.

Second, Trump is sending an unsubtle signal to other federal prosecutors who might be inclined to prioritize the rule of law over the White House’s wishes. Indeed, when it comes to the pursuit of the former FBI director, prosecutors who chose not to bring charges against Comey were replaced with those who would follow political instructions. As a second set of charges moves forward, the message to other prosecutors couldn’t be clearer: Play along with the revenge campaign, or face unemployment.

And third, the Comey conviction allows the president to effectively argue that he can force his perceived enemies to endure legal, personal and financial hardships as a direct consequence of their defiance of him, even if the indictments are a joke, and even if the defendants are ultimately acquitted.

Trying to convict the former FBI director is largely irrelevant. The corruption is the point.

I will never forgive Comey for helping elect trump. I was training voter protection attorneys and poll watchers at a downtown law office when one of my firm's associates who was attending the class gave me a funny look. While I was in middle of the class, Comey had announced that they re-opened the Clinton investigation due to emails on Clinton's assistant computer. When I found out, I was shocked because the FBI and DOJ were not supposed to do anything political just before the election. Comey help get trump elected and now trump is persecuting Comey

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. MaddowBlog-Why the Justice Department's signing bonuses are so deeply embarrassing

There’s no great mystery as to why the DOJ is left resorting to these humiliating tactics.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-the-justice-departments-signing-bonuses-are-so-deeply-embarrassing

It is an enormous problem for the Justice Department that, between politically motivated purges and widespread resignations, it finds itself noticeably short on attorneys. In fact, there are real practical consequences to the hollowing out of the DOJ, as prosecutors with increasing frequency are forced to seek delays in cases, simply because they lack enough lawyers to handle the disputes.

But making matters even worse is the fact that the flipside is also true: The Justice Department hasn’t just lost or ousted too many attorneys — it’s also struggling to replace them. Bloomberg Law reported:

The Justice Department is taking a new tack to overcome hurdles in attracting qualified legal talent and to prevent current lawyers from leaving: offering signing and retention bonuses throughout the Civil Division.

New vacancy postings show signing bonuses of $25,000 are newly available to staff offices investigating youth transgender treatments and litigating the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.

.....After this report was published, I heard from some lawyers who were absolutely amazed to learn that conditions are this bad at the DOJ. Bradley P. Moss, a prominent attorney in Washington, D.C., wrote via Bluesky, “When I came out of law school in 2006, DOJ’s prestige was such that liberal and conservative graduates alike would have gladly stepped over their friends’ dead bodies to get a position there. Trump has ruined it now to the point [the department is] having to bribe new graduates to apply.”

In other words, the fact Main Justice has resorted to signing bonuses and retention incentives is profoundly embarrassing for the institution. These developments make it painfully clear that some of the most important and sought-after jobs in American law have become, for all intents and purposes, positions attorneys simply do not want......

As recently as this week, the DOJ had to apologize to a federal judge after the administration pushed false information about her, which came as many federal judges have conceded they can no longer trust claims from the department’s lawyers.

The question isn’t why lawyers are refusing even to apply for jobs that used to be among the most prestigious in the profession; the question is how long it will take to restore the Justice Department to what it was before Trump and his team decided to corrupt it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. The Virginia Speaker is now being investigated by trump's DOJ /FBI

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. MaddowBlog-Trump's FBI faces difficult questions following raid on Virginia Democrat's office

I don’t know if the case against L. Louise Lucas has merit. I do know federal law enforcement hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt.

I have no idea whether the case against Virginia's L. Louise Lucas has merit. But I do know that the DOJ's and FBI's hyper-partisan leaders haven't exactly earned the benefit of the doubt.

Not to put too fine a point on this, but this is why we don't politicize federal law enforcement

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-06T18:29:50.055Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-fbi-faces-difficult-questions-following-raid-on-virginia-democrats-office

Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas is generally known to national audiences as the Democratic leader who spearheaded a redistricting effort in the commonwealth, which voters endorsed and may help her party keep pace with Republicans’ gerrymandering arms race.

But two weeks after the statewide vote, Lucas is poised to be known for something very different, although possibly related. Politico reported:

The FBI searched the office of Democratic Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas on Wednesday morning, according to multiple media reports and news footage in front of her Portsmouth office.

The FBI confirmed it was “executing a court-authorized federal search warrant in Portsmouth,” but did not explicitly state a target of its probe or what it was investigating.

.....The AP’s report added, “Though the exact nature of the investigation was unclear, the search comes as the FBI and Justice Department have opened a spate of politically charged investigations into perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump.”

It’s that second part of the sentence that stands out.....

But while I don’t know whether the case against Lucas has merit, I do know that the hyperpartisan leaders of the Justice Department and the FBI have made it impossible to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Not to put too fine a point on this, but this is why we don’t politicize federal law enforcement. Because even if the underlying case is legitimate, it’s impossible to avoid the larger context and the degree to which this looks like a retaliatory investigation against a Democrat, launched by a weaponized department known for its retaliatory investigations against Democrats.....

Shortly after FBI officials executed the search warrant on Wednesday morning, Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott issued a written statement that read in part, “Given the politicization of this administration — an FBI led by Kash Patel and a Justice Department run by President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney — I think people should take this with a grain of salt and allow the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions.”

Scott’s statement continued, “At this point we simply do not know what this ultimately means. Right now, there is far more theatrics and speculation than actual information available to the public. It also raises important questions. How was Fox News, a national media outlet, first on the scene? Did they know about the raid beforehand? If so, who approved that? And what more information is there about what this raid was actually about? Virginians deserve answers before anyone rushes to political conclusions.”