Former FBI Director James Comey may have several options to fight his criminal indictment, but one of the most aggressive could be seeking to disqualify the prosecutor assigned to his case. That’s according to former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, who shared her analysis on MSNBC with Melissa Murray.
The indictment accuses Comey of making false statements and obstructing justice. The case is being led by Lindsey Halligan, a defense lawyer for Donald Trump who was appointed to oversee the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan took over after her Trump-appointed predecessor determined there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute. Despite that, she has pushed the case forward at Trump’s urging.
Her lack of experience has drawn scrutiny. Reports suggest Halligan needed coaching to navigate grand jury procedures and failed to file the correct charging documents. These missteps, legal experts say, could weaken the government’s case.
Comey himself has publicly embraced the legal fight. “Jim Comey has said that he is ready for trial. He’s ready to go to trial with this,” Murray said on air. McQuade responded that the next steps will depend on how Comey and his legal team choose to proceed.
“I don’t know,” McQuade admitted. “You know, I think Jim Comey’s got to think strategically here. If he’s innocent, he might want to just assert his right to a speedy trial, say, let’s go and dare Lindsey Halligan to get ready for this trial and prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Still, McQuade noted that Comey and his lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, could file motions before trial. Possible strategies include arguing selective prosecution, claiming due process violations, or directly challenging the legitimacy of Halligan’s appointment.
On that last point, McQuade said, “It appears to violate all of the various ways a U.S. attorney can be appointed … under the Vacancy Reform Act, and so maybe they want to go after one of those bases to get the case dismissed. But I could imagine Jim Comey saying, ‘You know what? Let’s go to trial because I am confident I’m going to prevail,’ and it will happen quickly and be over. And then he would be fully exonerated and cleared. So that’s a strategic decision he’s going to have to make.”
Challenges to Trump-aligned prosecutors are not new. Earlier this year, federal judges ruled that Alina Habba in New Jersey and Sigal Chattah in Nevada were unlawfully appointed. Those decisions could weigh heavily on Comey’s case as it moves forward.