Polarized former FBI director James Comey sat on a three-legged stool on a three-legged stool, sitting on a virtuous stool of his new crime novel to dozens of people signed Monday night.
A few days ago, he sparked a fire on the right when he posted a photo of Donald Trump and senior administration officials insisted on Instagram - and a Secret Service investigation. It is a call for the assassination of the president.
Now Comey is as talkative and confident as ever, abandoning his chances of facing criminal charges.
Comey said of interviewing his Secret Service agents: “They are professionals.”
But when he signed the book, Trump's former defense attorney Alina Habba, now acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, announced that she had filed criminal charges against DN.J. Rep. Lamonica McIver for protesting outside Newark's immigration and customs law enforcement detention facilities.
The announcement highlighted that the Justice Department operates differently in the first four months of Trump’s second term than in the first four months of his first semester. Trump’s loyalists – Like Haba, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, have the highest enforcement role, while this administration is more aggressive in targeting political enemies and universities and law firms.
While Comey underscores that the investigation into his Instagram post was "distracted", the indictment against McPheres was trapped in Stark relief, and he may not be as safe as he was not prosecuted -- or at least a long-running criminal investigation -- as pointed out on Monday.
Trump is “surrounded by people willing to cater to his worst instincts.”
“I don’t like Jeff Sessions or Bill Barr, but in my opinion, they have some restrictions,” Sorkin added, referring to Trump’s first attorney general. “It seems that Pam Bondi has fewer restrictions.”
Comey appeared on MSNBC a few hours before his appearance at Barnes & Noble, and was interviewed for his first time since last Thursday’s Instagram post.
It shows shells arranged in the shape of "8647" on the beach. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Trump is the 47th president, with 86 informally saying "get rid of it."
Comey said he never thought the position would be controversial.
"I really thought I was done," he said. "I'm in another life. I'm a grandfather, the writer wearing a sweater and jeans, and then walking on the beach, posting a silly shell photo, which I think is a clever way to express political views.
"In fact, I still think it is. I can't see what some people are still saying," Comey added. "But again, I don't want any part of any violence. I've never been associated with violence, so that's why I knocked down violence."
Trump fired Comey in 2017 in a FBI investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign coordinated with Russia. John Durham investigated him.
“This is not my first rodeo,” Comey said.
But he is indeed frustrated by the Trump administration’s goal to target political opponents.
“One of the real problems we are facing in this country right now is using the power of the president, aiming at individuals who don’t have my background or experience,” he said.
"My thing is for me, I hope to everyone else, just a distraction that disappeared over the weekend. But something more important happens here - using power to target individuals and erode the rule of law."
Last month, the Justice Department and FBI officials conducted a federal criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won a $454 million civil fraud sentence last year, saying she made false statements on her mortgage application.
The Department of Homeland Security said this month that a former federal official denied Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 election Chris Krebs was the subject of an unspecified federal law enforcement investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia has investigated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is now serving as mayor of New York City. The New York Times first reported the investigation, which it said focused on Cuomo's congressional testimony about the pandemic.
All deny any wrongdoing.
New Jersey State Councilor McIver was charged with two counts of "beating, resisting and obstructing" two federal immigration agents during a May 9 protest outside an immigration detention facility in Newark.
“It’s political intimidation and I look forward to spending a day in court,” McPher told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.
The federal investigation could delay for years, damage people’s reputation and drain financially.
"They can hurt you for three years by investigating you," said a former federal prosecutor, speaking on anonymously, citing fears of revenge.
"The question is whether you want to hurt someone or the convicted person?" the former prosecutor added. "The first thing is easy. The second thing is difficult. You need evidence."
Comey put pressure on the Secret Service investigation in a television interview, saying the judiciary is the only remaining branch of the government that can protect him from suspicious prosecution.
“I believe in our judiciary,” Comey said. "I believe the rest of our three-legged stool - the independent judiciary - is alive, well, and it gives me great comfort."