PROSECUTION OR PAYBACK?

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How to Fight a Vindictive Prosecution
When does justice cross the line into payback?
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We break down the Comey indictment — and go deeper with a former federal prosecutor on what counts as selective prosecution, what crosses into vindictive prosecution, and how anyone can fight back when the system gets personal.

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82 thoughts on “PROSECUTION OR PAYBACK?”

  1. “PROSECUTION OR PAYBACK?” how ’bout PERSECUTION?
    Attribution: Political Violence or Violent Politics by Christopher Weyant, CagleCartoons.com
    [Chris Weyant draws political cartoons for The Boston Globe, and the New Yorker.]

  2. the daily show (starting at 1:13 minutes in) on the comey case

    Jordan Klepper dives into Trump’s latest adventures in pettiness, from framing Biden’s autopen signature among portraits in the Presidential Walk of Fame to framing James Comey for crimes despite getting a political assist from the former FBI director in 2016. Plus, Troy Iwata explains how Lindsey Halligan’s appointment to U.S. Attorney despite her lack of experience is giving major “Legally Blonde” vibes.

  3. seriously though

    Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann talks with Jen Psaki about the legal issues inherent in the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and the procedural steps that have been skipped in Donald Trump’s rush to have his political enemies prosecuted. Weissmann points out that having a trial that gives Comey a platform to mount a defense may be a move Donald Trump comes to regret.


  4. Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted. He is charged with one count of making false statements and another count of obstruction of justice. Comey himself posted a video to Instagram sharing his response to the news. Scott Fredericksen, defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, joins CBS News with more.

  5. Another blonde agrees to debase herself and sometime in the future face being disbarred from being an attorney.

    Lindsay Halligan, the newly-installed US Attorney prosecuting James Comey at President Trump's direction, is an insurance attorney and a Miss Colorado finalist. She has never prosecuted a case. https://t.co/K0r3XMYUsz— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) September 26, 2025

  9. “If you want people to speak kindly after you’ve gone—speak kindly while you’re alive”

    —Bob Dylan, on charles kirk

  10. Funniest thing I heard about the Comey indictment is that Halligan was asked by the judge which of the two charging papers she wanted to rely on and Halligan said she hadn’t seen them. The judge then informed her that she had signed both of them. OOPS. I would love to run into my former colleague who was US Attorney for the Northern District of WV during the GWB administration and my friend who was the Chief Judge in the NDSW until 2 years ago when she retired after 30 years on the bench (both Republicans) or even my buddy who’s a magistrate judge in NDWV (Democrat) to see what their take is.

  11. When Weissman speaks people (should) listen. His background is just fucking impressive.

    Bibi is not having fun at the UN.

    Sept. 26, 2025, 9:11 a.m. ET5 minutes ago
    Liam Stack
    Netanyahu held up a prop map he showed last year that depicts what he calls “Iran’s terror axis,” with Iran, Iraq and Syria highlighted. He described Iran’s weapons program and its alliances with Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime in Syria, and the Houthi militia in Yemen. This year, he says, that coalition of forces has been defeated.

    Sept. 26, 2025, 9:11 a.m. ET6 minutes ago
    Ephrat Livni
    Netanyahu begins his speech by talking about the threat of Iran and its nuclear weapons program that he said was meant to threaten not only Israel but the world.

    Sept. 26, 2025, 9:07 a.m. ET9 minutes ago
    Liam Stack
    A large number of representatives are walking out of the General Assembly chamber as Netanyahu takes the lectern. It looks like dozens.

    Sept. 26, 2025, 9:06 a.m. ET10 minutes ago
    Ephrat Livni
    Netanyahu has been called to the stage.

    From NYT

  21. Sorry I can’t join. between a meeting that just ended and a client brushfire that arose during it, I’m tied up for the next hour or so. Would love to, but my two cents worth is that people who know a lot more about federal prosecutions seem to think this is a dog, and while it’s pretty apparent that Dumbass directed that it be investigated and an indictment brought before the Statute of Limitations runs on Tuesday, pretrial dismissals on the basis of selective prosecution or vindictive prosecution are less common than hen’s teeth. I’ll have to listen to the chat this afternoon if I can get enough water thrown on this brushfire (they seem to always arise on Friday) to get the client through the weekend.

  22. …Halligan said she hadn’t seen them. The judge then informed her that she had signed both of them. OOPS.

    Dodo-lawyers no longer fear looking stupid in Court or anywhere. Their boss is always stupider. Their only fear is looking honest.

  25. Repugz controls all of it & no, there is no such demand that healthcare be funded for non-documented folks.

    Just Douche-y Vance is such a liar, just like rest of them.

    Craig – Make sure the MAGAt guy understands that if he shows up, again.

    Dumbest timeline, ever.

  30. The destruction of the VA medical system continues. All COVID medications have been removed from the hospitals and clinics. Yup, kill the veterans because they are the ones who know how to protect and defend.

  32. Pogo
    Good videos, creative use of AI.
    Thanks to AI, now every band has to churn out an eighties style MTV video.

    Jack

  42. Poobah,
    I had the opportunity to put the chat on in the background to listen to – the issue that Tony brought up and threw at you and Jamie that Trump did not – to his knowledge – direct Blondi to prosecute Comey. Here’s the text of the 9/20 Truth Social post that is probably the closest to that:

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump

    Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, “same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.” Then we almost put in a Democrat supported U.S. Attorney, in Virginia, with a really bad Republican past. A Woke RINO, who was never going to do his job. That’s why two of the worst Dem Senators PUSHED him so hard. He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case. No, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so. Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot. We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! President DJT

    15.9k ReTruths

    52.8k Likes

    Sep 20, 2025, 6:44 PM

  43. Point being a president of these united states throwing his extreme full weight on the scale of justice breaks the entire mechanism.

  44. I enjoyed talking to Tony (Magat Man) today though I think Craig might have been a little irritated with us. Tony is a total pragmatist. It is what it is, wake me if anything changes. He isn’t or pretends he isn’t concerned about anything on the horizon that might happen. He doesn’t consider historical context or long-range possibilities. He approves some things happening i.e. toss out anyone who isn’t a citizen, but nuance as to consequences unless they happen to him aren’t important. Of course, by the time the something bad happens, it could be way too late to make changes.

  48. https://nypost.com/us-news/who-is-lindsey-halligan/

    In her 20s, Halligan twice competed in Miss Colorado USA, finishing fourth in 2010 and making it to the semi-finals in 2009.

    In 2021, she met Trump at a West Palm Beach golf course, where she had come straight from court wearing one of her signature fitted suits. Trump asked her what she did for a living, and she joined his legal team the following year.

    Halligan was present during the FBI’s August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago and later represented Trump in a dismissed defamation lawsuit against CNN. She later attended the US Open with him.

    In March 2025, Halligan joined the White House as senior associate staff secretary. Trump then assigned her to lead an initiative to remove “improper ideology” from Smithsonian Institution museums, the National Zoo, and other facilities.

    Halligan can now serve as interim US attorney for only 120 days unless extended by federal judges or confirmed by the Senate.

    Over the course of her career, however, she has worked on only three federal cases — all while serving as one of Trump’s personal attorneys, according to court records obtained by Fortune magazine.

  49. Another thing to know about Magat Man that he told Craig, Carolyn, and me is that he is living off of disability benefits. Or in other words… he’s a republican dissing government while he living off the government’s teat.

    Once he said that…. I didn’t take anything else he said seriously.

  50. Kegseth is showing everyone who’s in charge. Little-big man, yanking everyone into an unnecessary and costly meeting.

  51. Callous and/or clueless, which fits the profile of most of them.

    They don’t think it will happen to them, or don’t give a rat’s rear-end until the leopard does start eating their face.

  52. Renee, that’s half my family. The “logic” is they and they alone earned/deserve it, not the latecomers and freeloaders “bleeding it dry.” They skipped the story in their Bible about the workers in the vineyard.*

    *(Jesus then concludes by saying that “the last shall be first, and the first shall be last,” highlighting that God’s Kingdom operates on principles of grace and generosity rather than on human expectations of merit or reward based on labor or time served.)

  58. And in just a peachy way to end the week, SCROTUS comes through for Dumbass. WaPo

    The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to freeze more than $4 billion in foreign aid for now, a victory for the president’s push to exert greater control over federal spending.

    The justices lifted a preliminary injunction from a federal judge who found the president had usurped Congress’s power of the purse by refusing to spend billions it had budgeted for food, medicine and development around the world.

    The decision could embolden Trump’s efforts to block funds across the federal government on everything from health research to transportation projects to “sanctuary cities.” Congressional Democrats estimate that $430 billion in federal spending is on hold.

    Trump says he is trying to shrink a bloated federal bureaucracy and bring spending in line with the goals of his administration, but critics say he has overstepped his authority by asserting broad powers to unilaterally choke off funding.

    The showdown over Trump’s freeze on foreign aid follows a long-running legal dispute between international aid groups and the administration that has bounced around the federal courts during the last six months.

    U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali recently ordered the Trump administration to allocate $10.5 billion in aid by the end of the fiscal year on Tuesday. Trump officials said they would spend $6.5 billion, but employed a controversial budget tactic to try to claw back more than $4 billion through what is known as a “pocket recission” that was later ruled illegal.

    A federal appeals court declined to block Ali’s order on Sept. 6, and the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Sept. 8 to stay it. The next day Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a brief pause on the portion of the order covering the $4 billion so the court could consider the appeal.

    Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the government’s filing to the Supreme Court that meeting the Sept. 30 deadline would be “untenable” because the administration would have to immediately start diplomatic negotiations with other nations about using funds it was opposed to spending.
    […]
    Gonna be a long 3 1/2 years. Hope there will be something left at the end.

  60. ok
    i have the meter but not the spirit, it should be more like:

    dumb people happy

    terror fills the wiser ones

    as darkness descends

  65. MagatMan asked the big one — “Why not indict Comey?”
    Carolyn: Indictment not well prepared.
    Craig: DOJ broke its own rules and doesn’t really have a case.

    📺 Watch the short, catch the full livestream and join our next chat:

  67. Renee
    On disability?
    With a young foreign born wife who just recently got a green card?
    Ha!, I’ve seen this movie and I can tell you it does not end well.
    But maybe this time it is different, luck to him
    Jack

  68. Next time he pops in to chat, I’d like to know if any of MM’s grandparents or their siblings fought fascists in WWII or if they were H/tler fan boyz.

  69. So, Trump’s escalator problem was because of his ego? He just had film himself ascending the escalator?

    I’m sure there is bible quote for that.
    Then again maybe in a Greek play.

    Jack

  70. SFB has surrounded himself with “mean girls,” and that includes, JD, Rubio & Hegseth. Think back to your worst experience in junior high or high school and the cruel kids involved. They now control all three branches of government. Dinold tRUMP is the mad king. Remember Regina George, the mad queen.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_George

    “Since 2016, Regina has been discussed extensively in topics relating to Politics of the United States, with politician and media personality Donald Trump often being compared to her character.[46][47] During the 2016 United States presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton compared Republican candidate Trump to Regina in an advertisement campaign.[48] On the day of the 2016 election, #ReginaGeorge trended on Twitter following satirical support for her as President of the United States.[49] In 2018, the Israeli Embassy in Washington responded to the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Twitter with a gif depicting Regina saying “why are you so obsessed with me?”. The tweet quickly gained popularity, being retweeted over 25,000 times and being liked over 80,000 times.[50] In 2019, Clinton responded to Trump on Twitter with the same clip.[51] American businessman and politician Mike Bloomberg featured Regina in an advertisement against Trump, in a clip where she says “God, Karen, you are so stupid!”

  72. If I’m understanding Carolyn and Craig, the indictment was slap-dash at best. To me, proof that for Dodo’s it’s more important to get it fast than to get it right. Fat butt breaking the scales.

  73. For the safety and convenience of our guests, we had a chair lift installed in the new house today. Problem is, it only holds 350 pounds.

  78. love that song

    i wish they didn’t ruin the harfoots, and Tom, and Gandalf in season 2

    …turned Mithrandír into a bumbling idiot 😒
    😭

    Rory Kinnear should have turned down that part 😡

    Brian Blessed would have been perfect, if only…

  81. @realDonald Trump
    I have been asked by many people about the life and times of Amelia Earhart, such an interesting story, and would I consider declassifying and releasing everything about her, in particular, her last, fatal flight! She was an Aviation Pioneer, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and achieved many other Aviation “firsts.” She disappeared in the South Pacific while trying to become the first woman to fly around the World. Amelia made it almost three quarters around the World before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished, never to be seen again. Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions. I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

    Sep 26, 2025 at 1:42 PM

    *We’re going in alphabetical order. Epstein is next. I can feel it. JK

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