Trump’s Retribution Campaign Against James Comey Crossed a Dangerous Line

The Trump administration's obsession with former FBI Director James Comey appears to have crossed the line from political vengeance into potentially illegal surveillance

According to reporting discussed on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," administration officials directed the Secret Service to track James Comey after he posted a photo of seashells arranged to read "86 47."

Trump allies interpreted the image as a threat against the president. Comey denied intending violence and deleted the post.

Comey's attorneys allege Secret Service agents tracked him without a warrant as he traveled with his wife from North Carolina to Virginia. The surveillance reportedly continued while the couple visited their deceased son's grave.

Secret Service officials initially resisted a request to electronically locate Comey's phone. According to a memo cited in court filings, an official wrote that agents did not believe anyone faced immediate danger and that tracking the phone was legally questionable.

A senior Justice Department official allegedly ordered them to proceed anyway.

The Danger Of Turning Law Enforcement Into A Political Weapon

The allegations have not been proven in court, and the Justice Department will have an opportunity to respond. But the case raises disturbing questions about whether the Trump administration used federal law enforcement to punish one of the president's longtime enemies. Also, there seems to have been major lawbreaking here, and heads should roll for this.

A lengthy Mediaite article listed several problems with this case, including the case being greenlighted by a rookie prosecutor.

"The indictment against Comey was signed by a single prosecutor, Matthew Petracca, "who became an AUSA two days before seeking the indictment," Comey's attorneys wrote," according to the article.

The case has so many holes, it will likely fail, but that's not the point. This is Comey's second indictment by the Trump Justice Department. The first one, which accused him of making a false statement and obstructing justice, was thrown out, but each time he's indicted, he has to hire a legal team at his expense. This is classic lawfare, death by a thousand legal cuts. Using legal cases to destroy your opponents is also widely used in Vladimir Putin's Russia.

The American Civil Liberties Union warned about this danger after the administration first indicted Comey.

Soviet Tactics

"The president and his administration have corrupted our system of justice to turn his campaign of retribution into reality," the organization said.

That is the larger issue.

The Secret Service exists to protect national leaders and investigate credible threats. It is not supposed to operate as Trump's personal intelligence service. These are Soviet Union-style draconian tactics.

Comey has been one of Trump's favorite targets since Trump fired him as FBI director in 2017. Trump has repeatedly attacked Comey and publicly demanded that he be prosecuted.

That history makes the surveillance allegations especially troubling. This was not a routine investigation involving an unknown suspect. It involved the administration of a president deploying federal resources against a man he has despised for nearly a decade.

How Democratic Guardrails Begin To Collapse

Comey's lawyers argue that investigators distorted evidence, withheld information, and pursued a prosecution rooted in Trump's personal animosity. They say agents found no convincing evidence that Comey intended the seashell post as a violent threat.

The reported resistance from career officials is also important. They apparently recognized that the operation could be improper, yet political officials allegedly forced it forward.

That is how democratic guardrails collapse.

Americans deserve to know who ordered the surveillance, what legal authority supported it, and whether Trump received updates about it.

A president who uses federal agents to monitor his political enemies is not defending the rule of law. This is just one more example of Trump projection. He rails against weaponizing the government, but that's exactly what he's doing to Comey and the other people on his enemies list.

Buy me a Kofi.