I’m going to do a substantive post on Jim Comey’s selective and vindictive challenge (motion to dismiss, response, reply).
But first I want to look at a particular rebuttal Comey makes that may provide larger lessons about DOJ’s weaponization in the last year.
Comey’s reply spends a lot of time rebutting DOJ’s general response (in which DOJ had US Attorney Ellis Boyle write an affidavit disclaiming he had any animus to Comey, and then claimed that you must prove that a prosecutor himself had animus; this is how DOJ defeated Hunter Biden’s meritorious vindictive prosecution motions). It also dismantles one after another of Boyle’s (or perhaps Stan Woodward’s — I’ll come back to that) dumb misrepresentations.
In Comey’s Motion to Dismiss, a very long section lays out the history of politicization in Trump’s DOJ generally and against Comey specifically (but of course Comey was always at the center of it). That section makes a two-step argument about timing: The investigation was renewed after the EDVA case flopped, and then it was charged as Todd Blanche auditioned for the Attorney General job starting in April.
Days after the district court’s dismissal of the indictment, Director Patel publicly stated that the FBI and DOJ were “not done” and “ha[d] numerous options to proceed” against Mr. Comey. Kash Patel Reveals FBI, DOJ Executing ‘Multiple’ Options on James Comey, Newsweek (Nov. 29, 2025), http://perma.cc/XV4L-KYRW
[snip]
And in April 2026, President Trump suggested that the government was continuing to investigate Mr. Comey, stating that Mr. Comey was a “dirty cop” and “we’re not gonna stand for it.” Jennifer Bowers Bahney, Trump Says ‘I Don’t Know’ If There’s Any Evidence Against Top Dem He Wants to Indict, Yahoo News (Apr. 13, 2026), https://perma.cc/PH3H-D3RC
That same month, President Trump fired Attorney General Bondi, reportedly because “she couldn’t deliver on his agenda, including the effort to prosecute some of his political enemies.” Monica Alba et al., As Comey is indicted, Trump is said to be happy with acting Attorney General Blanche, NBC News (Apr. 29, 2026), https://perma.cc/P3W5-8E85 The President named Mr. Blanche as Acting Attorney General. In mid-April 2026, President Trump reportedly told Mr. Blanche that he was “audition[ing]” for a permanent appointment as Attorney General. Katelyn Caralle, Top White House officials encouraged potential Bondi replacement to make case to Trump for AG job: Sources, Fox News (Apr. 11, 2026), https://perma.cc/6YM9-FWZ8 Mr. Blanche responded by “ma[king] it clear to senior White House officials that he plans to move more efficiently than Ms. Bondi against Mr. Trump’s targets.” Glenn Thrush et al., Todd Blanche Targets Trump’s Enemies Amid Jockeying to Lead Justice Dept., N.Y. Times (Apr. 24, 2026), https://perma.cc/2EXZ-47SA He embraced President Trump’s September 2025 post, stating the President’s instruction to the former Attorney General that “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED” should make Americans “happy.” Laura Jarrett & Ryan J. Reilly, Todd Blanche Says Americans Should be ‘Happy’ Trump is Deeply Involved in DOJ, NBC News (Apr. 14, 2026), https://perma.cc/T8JE-FERA “At Mr. Blanche’s urging,” the DOJ moved quickly to effectuate the President’s wishes. Thrush et al., Todd Blanche Targets Trump’s Enemies,supra. Mr. Blanche “g[ave] the green light” to investigations into Cassidy Hutchinson (a former White House aide who testified about President Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021 riot), Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, and civil rights organization the Southern Poverty Law Center. Id.
Mr. Blanche also “plan[ned] to revive” efforts to prosecute Mr. Comey after the “botched attempt” in the Eastern District of Virginia. Id. To that end, Mr. Blanche “creat[ed] a special position” within the DOJ for Joseph diGenova, a longtime Trump lawyer who had previously advocated for Mr. Comey’s prosecution. Paul Sperry, Russiagate Prosecutor Calls Audible on ‘Grand Conspiracy,’ WFMZ (June 25, 2026), https://perma.cc/JG84-K2WQ Mr. Blanche “put [Mr. diGenova] in charge” of investigating a supposed grand conspiracy against President Trump involving Mr. Comey. Thrush, Todd Blanche Targets Trump’s Enemies, supra. Previously, Ms. Bondi had “got[ten] in the way” of these efforts. Id. This appointment followed the removal of a career prosecutor from the case. Charlie Savage & Alan Feuer, U.S. Installs a Trump Loyalist to Lead ‘Grand Conspiracy’ Case Into Trump Foes, N.Y. Times (Apr. 18, 2026), https://perma.cc/YG9V-MTNQ
The DOJ also set its sights on prosecuting Mr. Comey for his seashells post from a year earlier. As Attorney General, Ms. Bondi had reportedly “pushed her team to keep pursuing” the Eastern District of Virginia case against Mr. Comey, “concluding that [the] case was significantly stronger than potential charges based in North Carolina.” Carol Leonnig & Fallon Gallagher, ‘Seashells’ Case was on Back Burner Until Bondi Fired as AG, say sources, MS Now (Apr. 30, 2026), https://perma.cc/S8VG-M89S As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Blanche had reportedly urged caution in prosecuting Mr. Comey for his seashells post. Thrush, Todd Blanche Targets Trump’s Enemies, supra. But with Ms. Bondi ousted and Mr. Blanche seeking a permanent appointment as Attorney General, “the ‘seashells’ case gained new steam,” and “Blanche’s aides instruct[ed] Boyle to seek a grand jury indictment of Comey.” Leonnig & Gallagher, supra.
A passage ten pages later (which appears in the argument about law) picks up that narrative where it left off and describes that you don’t generally let people who threatened the President to sit out there for most of a year.
Nonetheless, with the Eastern District of Virginia indictment dismissed and Mr. Blanche needing to please President Trump during his “audition,” Mr. Blanche’s aides “instruct[ed] Boyle to seek a grand jury indictment of Comey.” See supra p. 16.
The government’s revival of a fruitless investigation based on political expediency evidences the impact of animus on the decision to prosecute. Where the “government ha[s] followed unusual discretionary procedures in deciding to prosecute,” those aberrant procedures provide strong evidence that the prosecution was brought for an improper reason. United States v. Greene, 697 F.2d 1229, 1236 (5th Cir. 1983). Generally, when law enforcement becomes aware that an individual has threatened the President, officials act quickly to charge and arrest that individual. See, e.g., United States v. Lang, No. 3:25-cr-409 (D.S.C. filed Mar. 4, 2025) (15-day delay); United States v. Carillo, No. 5:24-cr-16 (W.D. Va. filed Aug. 2, 2024) (6-day delay); United States v. Butler, No. 7:22-cr-46 (W.D. Va. filed Dec. 7, 2022) (6-day delay); United States v. Merryman, No. 1:22-cr-50 (D. Md. filed Feb. 10, 2022) (1-day delay); United States v. Henthorn, No. 5:19-cr-8 (N.D. W. Va. filed Jan. 22, 2019) (4-day delay). Had Mr. Comey’s post been assessed as a true threat, the government’s normal process would have led it to act quickly here as well. Instead, the indictment took 348 days.
Boyle’s response ignores a great many points Comey raised in the longer narrative, ignoring even the things Kash Patel or Todd Blanche said in public as if they were Fake News, and focuses on the first step of that process — what happened after the EDVA case flopped. But he responded to the one about timing. That long delay only proves the seriousness of the investigation, Boyle claimed.
Comey’s arguments about prosecutorial delay also miss the mark. If anything, such delay militates against any suggestion of vindictiveness, because it confirms this was a genuine investigation. Regardless, courts do not flyspeck the timing of criminal investigations beyond applying (when appropriate) the five-year statute of limitations that Congress established. See 18 U.S.C. § 3282(a). That is because separation of powers principles preclude district courts from second-guessing how efficiently criminal investigations have unfolded, at least absent any indication of strategic delay aimed at prejudicing a defendant.
The “(when appropriate)” is a nice tell: because the Grand Conspiracy investigation into Comey is doing all sorts of crazy things to get around statutes of limitation.
Anyway, that comment set up this rebuttal from Comey: Nothing you did in the interim made it into the search warrant or response.
The record belies the government’s claim (at 25) that its 348-day delay in seeking the indictment “confirms this was a genuine investigation.” Not a single piece of evidence cited by the government in its oppositions or search warrants was obtained in the ten months between June 2025 and the issuance of the indictment on April 28, 2026. Instead, nearly all the government’s evidence—including the post itself, Mr. Comey’s novel, and texts from Patrice Comey and Person1—stems from the week the post was published (May 15-22, 2025). See Dkt. 54 at 3-11. Other evidence cited by the government, such as its interview with former mafia member Salvatore Gravano, was collected after the indictment issued—and so cannot possibly explain the government’s delay in seeking that indictment. See id. at 9
[snip]
Although some courts have hesitated to apply the presumption pretrial, none of their animating reasons exists here. Most notably, courts are reluctant to presume vindictiveness if the sole indication is the addition of new charges after a defendant invoked routine pretrial rights, because “[i]n the course of preparing a case for trial, the prosecutor may uncover additional information that suggests a basis for further prosecution.” Goodwin, 457 U.S. at 381; see, e.g., Villa, 70 F.4th at 711. Here, by contrast, only the initial indictment is at issue, and the government cites no additional evidence learned post-dismissal of the Virginia indictment that prompted this one; to the contrary, its investigation developed only powerful exculpatory evidence (such as the absence of “86” as a synonym for “kill” in mob prosecutions). See supra p. 12. And while it is true that defendants “routinely” invoke procedural rights pretrial, Goodwin, 457 U.S. at 381, Mr. Comey’s successful challenge to the Virginia prosecution, which undermined the functioning of an entire U.S. Attorney’s Office, was far from routine.
That argument — and the secret filing about something that happened on April 27, the day before the indictment — made me go back and re-read the affidavit Pat Fitzgerald did accompanying the original motion to dismiss, and sure enough that’s true: A September search, Fitzgerald notes — done at the request of an AUSA — for any instances of a violent connotation to 86 in the cases Comey pursued. A November search in one mob trial. Another November search of another one. Then, Fitzgerald’s affidavit and the exhibits note, that search plus a series of interviews resume in April — a search on April 14, another the night before the indictment, and then a bunch of stuff in May, after the indictment, which obviously could not have influenced the charging decision.
All that reflects very differently on Comey’s motion to suppress two warrants, which is one reason I want to focus on this. FBI Agent April Floyd didn’t mention the work she and others had done in September or November in the March search warrant for Jim Comey’s Apple account, which is part of Comey’s complaint. Nor did she mention the exculpatory things DOJ’s key witness — the person who hates Comey but nevertheless only came to view 86 47 as a threat after they listened to Rudy Giuliani rant about it — said. Floyd did an interview on April 13 with that person, and still didn’t include most of it in the search affidavit because they didn’t say what Floyd wanted them to say, which may be why Floyd interviewed a Secret Service agent on April 20 to manufacture a claim Dave Kelley had withheld information because he didn’t give them information they had not asked for. This timing argument supports an inference that Floyd’s omissions were not just material (and they undoubtedly were, with respect to the key witness), but served to hide how DOJ found nothing when they investigated this last year but then decided to revisit the case again in April, during the period Todd Blanche was auditioning to be Attorney General.
And April Floyd obscured that they had looked hard but found nothing in order to get a warrant from Apple — a warrant to obtain material for which someone got a preservation order as the EDVA collapsed last fall and again before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly “allowed” DOJ to destroy the evidence they had deliberately violated Jim Comey’s attorney-client privilege to access that information last year.
Floyd’s omissions are important for that reason. They show that DOJ found nothing last year and dropped the investigation and then renewed it when Blanche took over as Acting AG, yet still had not gotten what DOJ claims is inculpatory, the interview with Sammy the Bull, before indicting. And, as Comey noted, DOJ never bothered to read the returns obtained with that March 23 warrant, which Floyd claimed she needed to determine Comey’s state of mind when he posted the seashells photo and also to obtain the metadata for the photo that the very same warrant claimed Dave Kelley had been trying to withhold, before indicting.
Moreover, Mr. Boyle’s affidavit underscores that something irregular appears to have happened in April 2026, after Mr. Blanche became the Acting Attorney General. Mr. Boyle avers that: “Leading up to the decision to present the evidence to the grand jury, the prosecution team reviewed all evidence collected up to that point.” Dkt. 53-1 ¶ 11; see Opp. 24. But the discovery record shows that while the government had collected Mr. Comey’s Apple iCloud account, it proceeded to indict before it had the opportunity to review the materials collected. See Suppl. Aff. of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, filed concurrently under seal.
“The Indictment was approved and obtained before the agents or prosecutors had access to the communications or their contents,” AUSA Tim Severo told Pat Fitzgerald in June, and that delay couldn’t have been because of a filter team — the excuse Todd Blanche made at his indictment press conference — because they didn’t filter known attorney communications.
Floyd got a warrant claiming she needed it to investigate, but she didn’t use that material do basic things necessary to weigh whether a crime had been committed.
And all this gets into personnel issues, the way in which Trump’s DOJ serially move prosecutors around in a bid to get Comey prosecuted.
I’ve put a timeline of some of them below (I’ll go back and fill them in later). But one line in Comey’s motion to dismiss is key — and fairly coy. He states, relying on this Bloomberg story, that Boyle loaned two AUSAs to the EDVA case, “at least one” of whom oversaw the seashells case; the quotation here is from Bloomberg.
Ms. Halligan received assistance in her prosecution efforts from Ellis Boyle, installed two months earlier as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Ben Penn, Top Comey Prosecutor Parroted Trump on Way to Targeting His Foe, Bloomberg Law (Apr. 30, 2026), https://perma.cc/5ZL9-CTSP After no career prosecutors joined Ms. Halligan’s prosecution of Mr. Comey, “[Mr.] Boyle loaned two of [his] office’s more seasoned . . . prosecutors” to the Eastern District of Virginia prosecution. Id.; see Notices of Appearance, United States v. Comey, No. 1:25-cr-272 (E.D. Va. Oct. 6, 2025), Dkt. Nos. 17, 18. “At least one” of these prosecutors was investigating Mr. Comey’s social-media post while working in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Penn, supra; see supra p.10. 3
3 Both of these prosecutors resigned from the DOJ in January 2026.
This is all very coy. In neither the MTD nor Pat Fitzgerald’s affidavit does Fitzgerald describe who this AUSA is.
On May 21, 2025, an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) in the Eastern District of North Carolina (“EDNC”) wrote to a Secret Service agent that “I’ve been ordered to open this case in EDNC.” Ex. A. [012063]
[snip]
22. In September 2025, at the request of an EDNC AUSA, the FBI searched its Sentinel system—a database of all FBI investigations and information going back decades—for the purpose of determining whether Mr. Comey was exposed to a violent interpretation of the term “86” at the FBI:
But the documents show who that AUSA is: Gabriel Diaz is the guy who was ordered to open this investigation back in May 2025.
And Diaz was still working the case on September 18, when he asked the FBI to see if 86 came up in Sentinal files.
Boyle — who might be fun to play poker with, or even more fun to see cross-examined by any of the superb lawyers defending Comey — filled in some of the blanks that Comey’s coyness elicited.
1 Prior to my time as U.S. Attorney, in May 2025, AUSA Gabriel Diaz was assigned to handle the investigation of Comey in EDNC related to this case. After the indictment in the EDVA, AUSA Diaz was detailed to EDVA to assist with the criminal prosecution of Comey in that district. Although AUSA Diaz initially handled some of the initial investigations on this matter, he stopped working on this case after his detail to the EDVA occupied the majority of his time in October 2025 and November 2025. And as of late December 2025, AUSA Diaz is no longer a prosecutor in this office.
That implies Nate Lemons, the other AUSA farmed out to EDVA, did not do any work on this case. I wonder what he was doing instead?
And at least per Boyle, Diaz left before January; he left in December, around the time DOJ was fiddling with Dan Richman’s attempt to unring the bell of the privilege violations that Lemons and Diaz had participated in in EDVA.
The other parts of this timeline worth noting are the way Matthew Petracca (whom Boyle implies did not have a role in the prosecutorial decision, which is one of many reasons Boyle’s affidavit is dogshit) was put in charge of presenting the case to the grand jury two days before doing so, and left the team no more than 16 days afterwards, when Todd Blanche started colluding with the mob to sustain this investigation.
The lone signatory on the indictment was Matthew Petracca, an Assistant U.S. Attorney with a background in state Medicaid fraud and little federal criminal experience. Penn, supra. Mr. Petracca was hired by U.S. Attorney Boyle and reportedly joined the office only months before seeking the indictment, “after more experienced lawyers in the office investigating the sea shells post . . . left the case.” Penn, supra. 4 Mr. Petracca has since withdrawn from the case and transferred to the Civil Division. Dkt. 16.
4 Mr. Petracca converted from a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney to Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division effective April 26, 2026, two days before the indictment. Fitzgerald Aff. ¶ 42.
The really important detail, however, involves Stan Woodward.
For reasons that aren’t at all clear to me, Stan Woodward and his counselor appears in DOJ’s selective prosecution response.
STANLEY E. WOODWARD, JR. Associate Attorney General
W. ELLIS BOYLE United States Attorney
ANNA L. EDWARDS Counsel to the Associate Attorney General
/s/ Timothy M. Severo
TIMOTHY M. SEVERO
Now that I realize that though, I suspect Woodward wrote much of this filing; he is well practiced in writing things for an audience of one, the guy paying the bills. And the DOJ response cites a lot of case law, but also includes things Trump would want to see, such as citations to Judge Tanya Chutkan’s ruling in US v Trump that Joe Biden hadn’t ordered up the prosecution of Trump, a case that bears no likeness to this one.
But Woodward’s involvement is important because he’s the one who swooped in and tried to unfuck the mess Lindsey Halligan made of Dan Richman’s effort to get his devices back.
Stan Woodward is the one on the hook for reading Comey’s privileged materials, and then making efforts so DOJ could reconstruct those privileged communications by obtaining a new warrant directly from Apple.
Woodward is still around, doing the dirtiest work in Todd Blanche’s corruption factory.
Timeline
May 21: Gabriel Diaz ordered to open seashells case in EDNC.
August 7: Ellis Boyle appointed.
August 11: Ellis Boyle sworn in.
September 18: Diaz does first search for 86 in Gambino files, CCs FAUSA Phil Aubart.
October 6: Nate Lemons and Gabriel Diaz file notice of appearance in EDVA.
October 12: Lemons applies for Filter Protocol.
November 11: April Floyd opens seashells case as full investigation.
November 17: DOJ obtains first preservation order from Apple; Floyd receives Secret Service file.
November 24: Judge Currie dismisses the EDVA case.
November 26: Dan Richman moves to get DOJ to delete his records.
January 2026: Both Lemons and Diaz resign from DOJ.
January 2, 2026: Stan Woodward files notice of appearance in Richman suit.
January 5, 2026: Ellis Boyle nominated.
January 12: Fort Pierce grand jury convened.
January 20: Lindsey Halligan resigns.
February 20: Judge Kollar-Kotelly permits DOJ to delete materials from Richman; DOJ obtains second preservation order from Apple.
March 23: Agent Floyd obtains warrant for Apple materials preserved after EDVA case.
April 2: Pam Bondi fired; Joe DiGenova explains it is because of Grand Conspiracy probe.
April 13: Aubart and Floyd interview Person-1.
April 14: FAUSA Phil Aubart submits more search terms for Sentinal.
April 17: Blanche appoints Joe DiGenova to run Grand Conspiracy.
April 20: Joe DiGenova sworn in.
April 24: Matthew Petracca still Special AUSA.
April 26: Petracca made AUSA.
April 27: Something secret happens; Ellis Boyle’s nomination sent to Senate.
April 28: Jim Comey indicted in North Carolina.
May 11-15: Petracca moves off the case to Civil Division.
May 13: Aubart interviews Sam Gravano.
May 18: Ellis Boyle confirmed.
May 20: Sealed document in Richman suit; April Floyd obtains warrant for Google.
May 22: Sealed document in Richman suit.
June 3: Todd Blanche nominated.
June 5: AUSA Tim Severo explains that no one from the investigative team reviewed the Apple returns before the indictment.
June 18: Sealed document in Richman suit.
August 10: Todd Blanche confirmed.
It is shocking how MSM has accepted the bullshit excuse that CIA director John Ratliff flew in secret to Moscow to warn the Russians not to attack NATO. It was the opposite. It was to co ordinate the coming attack with our plan to abandon the NATO mutual self defense agreement , green lighting the attack and giving Trump a reason to declare a national emergency for cover to suspend the mid terms.
[Thanks for updating your username to meet the 8-letter minimum. Please be sure to use the same username and email address each time you comment so that community members get to know you. /~Rayne]
It’s helpful if commenters occasionally read the post they are commenting on.
Two sections from Comey’s team that you quote are the gems that stood out to me:
So this was the indictment that didn’t speak? (apologies to Arthus Conan Doyle)
Mr. Blanche, I believe, will be channeling his inner Indian Jones, substituting another word for Indy’s lament about snakes.
“Timelines. Why does it always have to be timelines?”
Nicely done, Marcy. I have a hunch those timelines aren’t done speaking. Be afraid, Mr. Woodward. Be very afraid.
Great stuff–thanks
Coupla apparent typos:
“the EDVA collapsed law fall”
“then decided to revisit the case against in April”
In this and other pictures of Blanche, his face always looks so pained, as if his arm is being twisted, to point of breaking, behind his back.
I am trying to wrap my mind around a W. ELLIS BOYLE United States Attorney. LinkedIn page, “Lead DOJ prosecutor, Comey 8647 Motions practice.”
It sings. Hire that guy!
I know you’re not doing it for me, but thanks anyway 🙂
You’re so welcome.
I also give…
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/09/04/crop-artist-speaks-out-after-harassment-over-antitrump-8647-piece
The item shows a State Fair crop art entrant did an 8647, and it gained notice. Harassment followed.
Related: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/09/01/crop-artists-react-after-state-fair-removes-antitrump-8647-piece-due-to-harassment
It’s a Minnesota thing, crop art. Will this artist be indicted? Not likely (not Comey) but Trump is Trump, and his DOJ is his.
Crop Art might have a reach beyond Minnesota’s State Fair, but I doubt it.
To me, just another prime number, move on, nothing to see here.
Polite, but odious.
According to the story, she has had to flee her home and is afraid to go back. These MAGAs and Trump worshipers are some sick, sick, people.
I would pay good money for that 8647 crop art piece.
Judge Edelman has dismissed David Hearn’s case but held in abeyance the question of prejudice, giving both parties one more chance to argue the point. I would expect that Hearn’s lawyers will be bringing up this case and the prosecution’s actions (and inaction for over a year).
Developments in various of these prosecutions remind me of when Grendel reached out to grip Beowulf – and Beowulf gripped back.
Flouting Flyspeck
The debut
of seashells and flyspeck,
Seashells and flyspeck
and humbug from the exec,
Humbug from the exec,
Add the peril: overleap,
Peril: overleap,
Means we’re voting in a sweep,
To flout you, to flout you.
With the debut
of seashells and flyspeck,
You bet a dirty trick it’s screwed
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle-oo
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle-oo
The debut
of seashells and flyspeck,
Seashells and flyspeck,
Know that every part’s a wreck,
Every part’s a wreck,
You try to make our lives a mess,
Make our lives a mess,
We guess we confess:
You’re a mess of nastiness
We flout you, we flout you.
With the debut
of seashells and flyspeck,
You bet a dirty trick it’s screwed
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle-oo
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle,
Toodle, toodle, toodle-oo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_xoydv2K4w
Carol Lawrence “A Bushel And A Peck” on The Ed Sullivan Show
It is defensible, in my opinion, if the President tells his AG, “I want you to look into Comey’s actions (with regard to a specific matter ) and see if any laws were broken here.” But that is not what happened in this case. If the 8647 case is not a vindictive prosecution, then nothing is.