Trumpians Flunking Constitutional Test On Former FBI Director, James Comey
-
‘Prosecute’ vs. ‘Persecute’ – Merriam-Webster
- “One you do in court, the other you do if you’re a jerk.”
On Comey, Republicans in Congress are already flunking an important test
Pressed on Donald Trump’s case against the former FBI director, GOP lawmakers are pushing the wrong talking points for the wrong reasons.
Sept. 26, 2025, 2:43 PM EDT By Steve Benen
On Thursday night, in one of the most dramatic abuses in the history of the Justice Department, Donald Trump successfully orchestrated the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, one of his prominent political enemies. Many congressional Democrats recognized the seriousness of the president’s scandalous move.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), for example, argued via Bluesky, “We aren’t on a slippery slope to a constitutional crisis. We are in the crisis. Time for leaders — political leaders, business leaders, civic leaders — to pick a side: democracy or autocracy?”
Some of his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill did not exactly rise to the occasion. NBC News rounded up a sampling of congressional GOP reactions:
Rep. Mike Simpson (T-ID2) posted: ‘Good to see the DOJ treating lying to Congress as a serious matter. I guess Comey’s ‘Higher Calling’ wasn’t to the Constitution or the laws of the United States.’ Rep. Byron Donalds (T-FL19) said, ‘James Comey wrongly wielded weaponized bureaucracy and lawfare to derail a duly elected President.’ ‘Russiagate was a complete hoax, and those that perpetrated this should face justice. No one is above the law,’ Rep. Tim Burchett (T-TN2), wrote in a post.
It’s tempting to remind congressional Republicans that nearly every prosecutor who evaluated the case against Comey — including a Trump-nominated U.S. attorney and a Trump-appointed special counsel — agreed that there was no point in pursuing this case. Similarly, I’d love to explain once again that Trump’s Russia scandal was not a “hoax,” no matter how many times he and his allies pretend otherwise. But of even greater interest right now is a reaction to the latest developments from Sen. Mike Rounds (T-SD).
Asked on CNN about the president weaponizing the Justice Department to target his political enemies, Rounds said he was content to “let the courts sort this out.” He similarly suggested that the public probably doesn’t much care about Trump shattering the country’s democratic norms.
And when Manu Raju asked specifically about the president directing the attorney general to go after his political opponents, the senator, after again punting the issue to the courts, replied, “I think we need to stay in our lane right now, and our lane is doing our job.”
There are some senators who are relatively new to the institution and have little experience in governing or policymaking, and it would be easy to understand how they might be confused about what does and does not fall under the purview of senators.
But Rounds isn’t one of them. The South Dakotan is not a rookie: After a decade in the state legislature, Rounds served eight years as a governor, and he’s been in the Senate for more than a decade. He knows how government works.
So the senator must realize that Congress has oversight responsibilities over the executive branch. Indeed, both the House and Senate have whole committees that are focused almost exclusively on oversight.
Lawmakers have launched investigations and held hearings into White House controversies for centuries.
When a president corrupts the criminal justice system and Congress finds out about it, this is absolutely in lawmakers’ “lane.”
If Rounds doesn’t want to bother with Trump’s scandals because he and the president are Republicans, he can say so. But to pretend that presidential abuses are none of Congress’ business is ridiculous.
- media
- MSNBC News - Breaking News and News Today / Latest News
- CNN / Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
- NBC News - Breaking Headlines and Video Reports on World, U.S. and Local Angles / NBC News
- organizations
- political parties
- Democrat Party
- Trumpian Party
- universities
- companies
- foreign governments
- state, local governments
- federal government
-
Constitution of the United States
- U.S. Constitution - Article I / Library of Congress
- U.S. Constitution - Article II / Library of Congress
- U.S. Constitution - Article III / Library of Congress
- U.S. Constitution - Article IV / Library of Congress
- U.S. Constitution - Article V / Library of Congress
- U.S. Constitution - Article VI / Library of Congress
- U.S. Constitution - Article VII / Library of Congress
- Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)
- US Courts
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Federal Reserve
- Federal Reserve Board - Federal Reserve Act
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Congress
- US Code
- President of the United States (POTUS)
- White House (WH)
- Trump autocracy
-
Donald J Trump
- President Donald Trump (45)
-
President Donald Trump (47)
- President Trump (47) Administration
-
President Trump (47) Cabinet
- press secretary
- Karoline Leavitt
- Pam Bondi
- Kash Patel
- press secretary
-
Donald J Trump
- grifter
- self-dealing
- corruption
- con artist
- crime
- cryptocurrency
- criminal associates
- criminal businesses
- criminal media
- criminal organizations
- criminal partners
- Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence. Presidential Action. Presidential Memoranda September 25, 2025
- Declaring a Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. August 11, 2025
- Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia. Presidential Actions. Presidential Memoranda August 11, 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures Major Settlement with Brown University. Fact Sheets. July 30 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures Major Settlement with Columbia University. Fact Sheets. July 24 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restricts Foreign Student Visas at Harvard University. Fact Sheets. June 4 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restricts the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats. Fact Sheets. June 4 2025
- Ending Taxpayer Subsidization Of Biased Media. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. May 1 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Investigates Unlawful “Straw Donor” and Foreign Contributions in American Elections. Fact Sheets. April 24 2025
- Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. April 23 2025
- Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. April 23 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Demands Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities. Fact Sheets. April 23 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Reforms Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education. Fact Sheets. April 23 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks from Chris Krebs and Government Censorship. Fact Sheets. April 9 2025
- Addressing Risks from Chris Krebs and Government Censorship. Presidential Actions. Presidential Memoranda. April 9 2025
- Addressing Risks Associated with an Egregious Leaker and Disseminator of Falsehoods. Presidential Actions. Presidential Memoranda. April 9 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks Associated with Miles Taylor. Fact Sheets. April 9 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks from Susman Godfrey. Fact Sheets. April 9 2025
- Addressing Risks from Susman Godfrey. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. April 9 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks from WilmerHale. Fact Sheets. March 27 2025
- Addressing Risks From WilmerHale. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. March 27 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks from Jenner & Block. Fact Sheets. March 25 2025
- Addressing Risks from Jenner & Block. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. March 25 2025
- Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court. Presidential Actions. Presidential Memoranda. March 22 2025
- Rescinding Security Clearances and Access to Classified Information from Specified Individuals. Presidential Actions. Presidential Memoranda. March 22 2025
- ADDRESSING REMEDIAL ACTION BY PAUL WEISS. Presidential Actions. Executive Orders. March 21 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks from Paul Weiss. Fact Sheets. March 14 2025
- Addressing Risks from Paul Weiss. Presidential Actions. March 14 2025
- Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP. Presidential Actions. March 6 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Adresses Risks from Perkins Coie LLP. Fact Sheets. March 6 2025
- Suspension of Security Clearances and Evaluation of Government Contracts. Presidential Actions. February 25 2025
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Directs Suspension of Security Clearances and Evaluation of Government Contracts for Involvement in Government Weaponization. Fact Sheets. February 25 2025
- Holding Former Government Officials Accountable For Election Interference And Improper Disclosure Of Sensitive Governmental Information. Presidential Actions. January 20 2025
- Addressing Risks from Paul Weiss. Presidential Actions. March 14, 2025
- Ending The Weaponization Of The Federal Government. Presidential Actions. January 20 2025
- Restoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship. Presidential Actions. January 20 2025
Related Posts
- 2025-10-08: World Stock Market Closing Indexes: Americas (Strong Gains). Europe, Middle East, & Africa (Strong Gains). Asia Pacific (Mixed).
- Latest Lies From Trumpian Senators: FBI 'Wiretapped' Them. No, They Didn't Listen In; They Captured Number Dialed & Call Duratio
- Trump Is Trying to Extort Universities For Research Grants, Giving Up Constitutional Rights