James Comey could walk free without ever facing trial—thanks to the man who ordered his indictment: Donald Trump.
In the hours after the former FBI director was indicted on federal charges of making false statements and obstructing justice, Trump couldn’t help himself. He celebrated. He gloated. And then he opened his mouth.
“He’s a dirty cop. He’s always been a dirty cop,” Trump told reporters Friday morning on his way out of the White House. “Everybody knew it.”
That wasn’t an isolated outburst. The comment followed a string of posts on Trump’s social media site, where he took a victory lap over the indictment—one that, by all appearances, he had been demanding for years.
And now, those very statements could backfire. Hard.
“No one from the White House should be saying anything about Comey or the indictment,” said Ty Cobb, a former White House lawyer under Trump and a longtime federal prosecutor. “But there are no guardrails there in this administration, no adults.”
In any typical case, a president—or anyone connected to the prosecution—talking like this could raise ethical questions. But when the person speaking is the same one who’s been publicly calling for charges, replacing prosecutors, and openly attacking the defendant? That’s no longer just a problem of optics. It’s legal fuel for a motion to dismiss.
Prosecutors are supposed to let the courtroom do the talking. They aren’t supposed to act—or appear to act—under political pressure. But Trump’s track record with Comey makes that line nearly impossible to defend.
The president has, for years, painted Comey as a political enemy. He’s made it clear he wanted revenge for the Russia investigation. During his campaign and throughout his presidency, Trump routinely accused Comey of treason, demanded he be jailed, and pledged retribution.
And now, after Trump’s own attorney general brought the charges, Trump’s public celebration may hand Comey the one thing he needs to strike the case down: proof the prosecution is politically motivated.
“Here, Donald Trump has been on the warpath, wanting his enemies prosecuted, evidence be damned,” said Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor with more than two decades of experience. “Let’s face it, he is the lead prosecutor in every case, given that he has wrestled prosecutorial discretion away from the Department of Justice.”
Motions for “vindictive” or “selective” prosecution are notoriously hard to win. But Trump may have provided the rare exception. His public commentary—combined with the chaotic way the case came together—could give Comey’s legal team a solid argument that the indictment itself is invalid.
Especially when you factor in how the case was brought.
Earlier this year, Trump removed the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, reportedly because he wouldn’t take the Comey case to a grand jury. In his place, Trump installed Lindsey Halligan, a political supporter and former insurance lawyer with no background in criminal law—and no Senate confirmation.
That appointment may violate federal law. Once Siebert’s 120-day interim term ended, a panel of judges legally extended his role while the Senate handled confirmation. Trump bypassed that process and pushed Halligan in anyway. Whether she even had the authority to present the case to a grand jury is now a live legal question.
“She literally might not have the right to set foot in that grand jury room,” Kirschner said.
So Comey’s defense has options. They can argue that the case is the result of an illegal appointment. Or they can argue that it’s a “vindictive prosecution”—a case driven by Trump’s personal obsession, not facts. Or both.
And thanks to Trump’s own words—both before and after the indictment—they may not have to work very hard to make that argument.
So far, Comey isn’t flinching. In a video posted Thursday night, he pushed back with a calm but clear message.
“I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial and keep the faith,” he said.
He might not get that trial. Not because the charges don’t matter—but because the man who wanted them so badly may have already sabotaged them himself.
