Republicans cheer Comey indictment—to their very own peril

Donald Trump is utilizing the facility of the presidency to enact revenge on his political enemies, and Republican lawmakers could not be happier.

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on Thursday on prices that he lied to Congress. That is extraordinarily skinny gruel that federal prosecutors didn’t suppose had been worthy of prices. Authorized specialists say it’s unlikely to result in a conviction, and it may even be dismissed for vindictive prosecution given Trump’s public feedback demanding Comey be charged and celebrating the final word indictment.

But a number of GOP lawmakers—who’ve wrongly claimed that Trump was the sufferer of lawfare—posted on X to declare that Comey’s indictment was a “good day for the rule of legislation.”

“James Comey, as your side loved to say, no one is above the law. This is not retribution, it’s accountability,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, Republican of Colorado, wrote in a publish on X.

In reality, Comey’s indictment was so thrilling to GOP lawmakers that some wrote social media posts that fantasized about seeing Comey behind bars.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, proven final December.

“All the years this man spent being applauded by his leftwing toadies, each cocktail celebration and TV look is not going to add as much as the millisecond when he hears the bars slam behind him,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, Republican of Wisconsin, wrote in a publish on X:

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, posted a doctored picture of Comey wearing an orange jumpsuit on a seashore with seashells spelling “FAFO”—brief for “fuck around and find out.” The picture was a nod to Comey’s Instagram publish that included the “86 47” written on a seashore—a publish that led to manufactured outrage from conservatives.

Luna wasn’t the one Republican to harken again to that Comey Instagram publish. 

Rep. Andy Biggs, Republican of Arizona, additionally posted an apparently doctored picture of seashells on a seashore that spelled out “No one is above the law.”

“James Comey, one of the corrupt officials who helped orchestrate the Russia Hoax, was just indicted for lying to Congress and obstruction of justice. Bad actors must be held accountable. Did Comey see any interesting seashell messages on his beach walk today?” Biggs wrote alongside the picture.

The Republicans who spoke out towards the indictment had been usually these not working for reelection subsequent yr and thus now not fearing the electoral penalties of Trump’s ire.

“Lawfare undermines our great country. It didn’t start in Jan, but it didn’t end either. The continued escalation will only hurt us all,” Rep. Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, who isn’t working for reelection, wrote in a publish on X.

Comey, for his half, stated he’s not afraid of the indictment, declaring that he’s harmless and saying he needs a trial.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, proven in June.

“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” Comey stated in a video message posted on Instagram. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either.”

“I don’t think there’s a case,” former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy informed Maria Bartiromo. “It seems to be premised on something that’s not true, which is that [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe said that Comey authorized him to leak to the Wall Street Journal. … I don’t see how they can make that case.”

Democrats stated that once they regain energy, they’ll make the individuals who engaged on this perversion of justice pay.

“The indictment of James Comey is a disgraceful attack on the rule of law,” Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries stated in an announcement on Thursday night time. “Donald Trump and his sycophants in the Department of Justice are completely and totally out of control, and have viciously weaponized the criminal justice system against their perceived adversaries. The malicious prosecution against James Comey has no apparent basis in law or fact, and lawyers of good conscience in the department know it. Anyone complicit in this malignant corruption will face accountability.”