"FBI Director James B. Comey, left, and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton talk about terrorism during a news conference at police headquarters in Manhattan on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. Photo Credit: John Roca The New York City Bar Association issued a stark repudiation of the U.S. Justice Department indictment of former FBI Director James Comey last week in a statement warning the prosecution is flouting the rule of law. The indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is the latestand most troublingaction by a Justice Department increasingly wielded as the personal instrument of the President of the United States, the bar association wrote in a public statement issued September 29."
"Multiple reports found that career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginiathe impartial professionals charged with applying the law without fear or favor found insufficient evidence to support charges against Comey. President Trump subsequently demanded Comey be prosecuted, citing personal grievances, according to reports. Staff who resisted the indictment were reportedly removed and the president installed Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, formerly one of the president's personal attorneys, to secure the indictment in less than a week."
The New York City Bar Association condemned the Justice Department's indictment of former FBI Director James Comey as a violation of prosecutorial independence and discretion. The bar said career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia found insufficient evidence to support charges. President Trump reportedly demanded prosecution and replaced resisting staff with Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, who secured an indictment within a week. The bar described that sequence—presidential directive, dismissal of professionals, installation of a replacement, and swift indictment—as the anatomy of a political prosecution and characterized the action as submission rather than independent law enforcement.
Read at www.amny.com
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