OPINION:
James B. Comey, former FBI director, was indicted on two federal charges for lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, and now he faces five years in prison.
And now his “heart is broken,” he said.
And now it’s time to cue the world’s tiniest violin.
“No one is above the law,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X. “[This] indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.”
Comey claims he’s innocent.
But not just a little bit innocent — but a la Ben Stiller’s “ridiculously good looking” Zoolander character, — really, really, really, ridiculously innocent.
Innocent enough that his heart breaks for all of America.
“We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either,” he said in a video post on Instagram.
“Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right, but I’m not afraid, and I hope you’re not either,” he went on.
“I hope instead you are engaged, and you are paying attention, and you will vote like your beloved country depends upon it, which it does,” he continued.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial and keep the faith,” he finished.
Yes. Let’s have the trial.
Comey is accused of lying about his authorization of a leak of information to The Wall Street Journal regarding the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and connections between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. Andrew McCabe, former FBI deputy, told a Senate committee during testimony that Comey had authorized the leak; Comey, in answer to a question from Sen. Ted Cruz, denied doing so.
Prosecutors will have to show that Comey “knowingly and willfully” made false statements to Cruz, and for the obstruction charge, that he did so with full intent to “influence, obstruct or impede the due and proper administration of the law,” as The Hill noted.
And truthfully, it’s a tough case for the Justice Department to make.
An inspector general report in 2018 already determined it was McCabe who “lacked candor” — umm, that is, lied — and that it was McCabe who actually authorized the leak to the press.
But as Comey said: Let’s have the trial.
For four years of his administration, and more years as a civilian, deep state Democrats targeted for attack Trump, his family, his MAGA team and his MAGA supporters, going so far to storm-troop Mar-a-Lago; make arrests in the middle of the night — with media cameramen in tow; bankrupt those who resisted; and roll one source over another, drilling and interrogating to the point of finding a vulnerability that was then exploited to rope in the next MAGA man or woman.
The money spent for whimsical investigations and court circus acts was enough to make any taxpayer’s heart break. The weaponization of the legal system and justice system and political system was enough to make any patriotic American’s heart break. The chill and fear from an unconstitutional and tyrannical Democrat Party that was inflicted on an entire nation was enough to make any free person’s heart break.
So let the trial of Comey go forth.
Let the photos of Comey in handcuffs go forth.
It’s not revenge. It’s consequence. It’s an accountability not just to Trump, but to all Americans who’ve suffered broken hearts from watching the teardown of the nation’s foundations at the hands of Democrats and their operatives for far too many years.
Comey should just be grateful nobody from this White House came to rifle through his wife’s clothing closet in search of something to exploit in court.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.