A bipartisan group of former federal ethics officials is calling for a Justice Department investigation into the prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging that both cases were driven by political revenge ordered by President Donald Trump.
In a letter obtained by CBS News, the officials — who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations — urged Acting Justice Department Inspector General William Blier to launch a formal review of interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s decision to prosecute the two prominent Trump critics. The signatories include Norm Eisen, ethics counsel under President Barack Obama; Richard Painter, a former White House lawyer for President George W. Bush; and Virginia Canter, who served under Presidents Bill Clinton and Obama.
The letter, issued under the banner of the nonpartisan Democracy Defenders Fund, accuses Halligan of “fulfilling President Trump’s longstanding personal vendetta” by pursuing what it describes as “egregious examples of vindictive and meritless prosecution.” The officials wrote, “A president should never order prosecutions of his enemies. That happens in Putin’s Russia — not in the United States.”
Comey and Letitia James have both had contentious relationships with Trump. Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, later became a vocal critic of the former president, calling him “morally unfit” for office. James, meanwhile, led the high-profile civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, which resulted in major penalties and restrictions on Trump’s business operations in New York.
Both prosecutions were filed within weeks of Trump publicly demanding their indictments on social media. The previous acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia reportedly resigned after refusing to bring charges, and Halligan — a Trump aide — was appointed soon after. Within days, she secured grand jury indictments against both officials.