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Welcome to the NewsHour.
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Former FBI Director James Comey has once again been indicted by the Department of Justice.
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It's the second time the Trump administration has attempted to prosecute him.
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The indictment is connected to a post Comey shared last year on social media of shells
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spelling out the numbers 8647.
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The Justice Department argues that post is a death threat.
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While this case is unique and this indictment stands out because of the name of the defendant,
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his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate and that we will
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always investigate and regularly prosecute.
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86 when used as slang generally means to get rid of something and Mr. Trump is the 47th
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The DOJ previously tried to indict Comey last year accusing him of lying to Congress.
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That case was dismissed by a federal judge last year on procedural grounds.
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For more on today's announcement, we're joined now by our Justice correspondent Ali Rogan
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So Ali, what is James Comey accused of specifically in this indictment?
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This grand jury accuses Comey of two felony accounts of threatening the president's life
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which come with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
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There was also a warrant issued for his arrest and just a few minutes ago, Comey issued
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a response via video.
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Now they're back this time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a
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year ago and this won't be the end of it.
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But nothing has changed with me.
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I'm still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.
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And as to those allegations, Comey said at the time that he was not aware of the phrase
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86 carried violent connotations and he subsequently took the post down.
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As he says, this happened a year ago.
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Attorney General Todd, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that this investigation
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has been ongoing for the past year and this is just how the timing worked out.
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It is worth noting, however, that the president has expressed frustration with the pace of
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efforts to prosecute his political adversaries and it's one of the reasons why Attorney General
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Pam Bondi is reported to have lost her job.
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And since becoming Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has taken several big steps in
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putting the focus back on President Trump's perceived political enemies, including former
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CIA director John Brennan and former president Joe Biden.
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Based on your reporting, Ali, how difficult will it be for the DOJ to make this case against
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Prosecutors are going to have a high bar to clear that Comey knowingly threatened the president.
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The Supreme Court made that high bar explicit in a 2023 opinion where they said that a
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person must have a subjective understanding that their statement could be interpreted as
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Otherwise, that speech is protected under the First Amendment and as I just said, Comey
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said at the time that he was unaware that the phrase 86 had violent connotations.
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Could this case open the door to others?
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Comey did say today that every case is different, the facts of each one are different, but
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Comey is not the first person to use this phrase and he's likely not going to be the last.
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It's shown up at rallies on signs, on t-shirts.
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer notably had it displayed that were the letters 8645
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on her desk during President Trump's first term.
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But Jeff, the statute of limitations on these cases is five years.
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So any forthcoming cases stemming from this one would likely have to be related to President
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Trump's second term.
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Thanks again for this reporting.
