Donald Trump (AP)
US President Donald Trump defended his justice department and criticized James Comey on Friday, hours after the former FBI director was indicted for making false statements and obstruction in connection with his 2020 senate judiciary committee testimony.When asked whether the indictment was driven by justice or revenge, Trump said, “it’s about justice, not revenge. It’s about justice. Also, it’s also about the fact that you can’t let this go on.””It’s about justice. He lied, he lied a lot,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday, as reported by ABC News.Earlier on Friday, he called Comey “one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to” in a social media post celebrating the indictment. In another post, Trump proclaimed “JUSTICE IN AMERICA” while labeling Comey a “DIRTY COP.”Trump also suggested that more officials could face charges.”It’s not a list, but I think there will be others,” he said. “I mean, they’re corrupt. These were corrupt, radical left Democrats. Frankly, I hope there are because you can’t let this happen to a country,” he added.Trump previously publicly urged attorney general Pam Bondi to use the justice department more aggressively against his political opponents. Posting on Truth Social, Trump framed his message as a response to allies’ criticism over what he described as insufficient action in federal investigations.Trump also targeted Erik Siebert, the former US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who resigned under pressure to charge James Comey with mortgage fraud. Trump disputed Siebert’s claim that he quit voluntarily and said, “no, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so.”Trump told reporters that Democrats “weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history,” accusing them of targeting him unfairly.Trump, who faced two indictments during President Joe Biden’s term, and his allies have criticized what they call the “weaponization” of the justice department, pledging to stop politically motivated prosecutions.The charges against Trump, involving election interference and mishandling of classified documents, were later dropped due to DOJ policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
