During an appearance on Fox News' "Special Report" on Friday, George Washington Law School Professor Jonathan Turley shared his thoughts on which charge contained in the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey could be most damning — and why.
Comey was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday on two federal charges: making a false statement (lying) to Congress and obstruction of justice in a congressional proceeding.
The indictment centers on testimony Comey gave before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020, where he allegedly denied authorizing anyone at the FBI to leak sensitive information to the media regarding an investigation.
Turley went bottom-line, telling anchor Brett Baier that the obstruction charge in Comey’s indictment could carry the steepest consequences — potentially landing the former FBI director in federal prison for years:
The obstruction count is really intriguing. That suggests that there was conduct, besides obviously that false statement, and that’s what we really need to look at. An obstruction count can go from five to 10 years of potential sentencing. But it depends on what the obstruction was.
While a long stint in federal prison probably wouldn't even wipe the perpetual smugness off Comey's face, it would likely lead to one of two things in the future: either the end of Democrat lawfare against political opponents, or the Democrat Party continuing to play tit-for-tat if, or when, it regains the White House. (Unfortunately, I'd place my bet on the latter.)
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Turley further explained to Baier that the underlying allegations will be critical:
We really need to see what the underlying allegations are. One of the reasons we have been focusing on his statement in 2020 about the leak is because that’s not a matter of interpretation.
Much of what people objected to with Comey over the years is that his answers were very evasive. He tended to say he didn’t remember things that you would think he would remember because they were rather momentous.
Of course, Comey was evasive in his answers — arrogantly so.
Interesting, isn't it, how the Democrat Party has howled at the moon for years about "no one being above the law," yet Comey and his cohorts pompously did their damnedest to portray themselves as just that.
As for the Republican Party, untold numbers of conservatives have long been tired of threats and "harshly worded letters," meaning this appears to be a golden opportunity for the justice system to step up to the plate and get this one right.
Turley also talked about Comey's "shifting positions" and "I can't remember" nonsense, saying the former FBI director would claim to "forget" some things, and then:
[He] would remember other details, no matter how fine the grain. But this is different. With regard to that leak, either he did leak the information or cause someone to leak it, or he did not. And that is not a matter of interpretation.
If that’s the false statement, the question [is] what is the underlying information that supported the indictment?
And the question here is if it is the same statement that we have been talking about, could he face his former associate and friend, McCabe, and will he repeat on the stand that ‘I was told to leak this by Comey’? That’s one of the things we will be looking at for that source.
Selective memory, Mr. Comey? Hell yeah. (wink-wink)
I'm not an attorney, so I'm somewhat leery to weigh in on how I think this case is going to turn out, but I do think Comey's defense team will rely heavily on the Democrat narrative that President Trump has demonstrated in his second term an eagerness to go after his "enemies."
Understand: I'm not suggesting the charges against Comey are politically motivated; I'm merely suggesting that Comey's legal team will work hard to convince a jury — or just one member — that politics — or "vengeance" — was behind the indictment.
Did I mention that a federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden was assigned to preside over the Justice Department’s prosecution of Comey? Yeah.
Judge Michael Nachmanoff of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia set Comey's arraignment for Oct. 9.
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