We are all James Comey

Jim Comey was first, but let's be clear: Donald Trump is coming for the rest of us too.

Author

Garrett Graff
September 26, 2025 • Reading Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to Doomsday Scenario, my regular column on national security, geopolitics, history, and—unfortunately—the fight for democracy in the Trump era. I hope if you’re coming to this online, you’ll consider subscribing right here. It’s easy—and free:

Today, I published an oped with the New York Times about last night’s chilling indictment of James Comey:

We have seen much debate over the merits and timing of a legal case against Mr. Comey, but any such discussion misses the most important point: We don’t want to live in a country where the president of the United States dictates, publicly or privately, who should be targeted by federal prosecutors and then pressures any prosecutor unwilling to bring said politically motivated charges. The Justice Department and the attorney general are supposed to keep an arm’s length distance from the president, not be his personal score settlers.

….

Mr. Trump’s future plans are worryingly clear. Hours before the Comey charges became public, he signed an presidential memorandum that outlined how he hopes the full weight of the federal government will be turned against domestic terror groups. The sweeping order so twists the definition of “domestic terror” that it is likely the intent could be to sweep up progressive activist groups, think tanks, their funders (the MAGA bête noire George Soros appears a likely target) and groups like the League of Women Voters.

The oped grew out of a frustrating segment I did Wednesday night on CNN with Laura Coates, where the other two guests immediately got into the weeds about the strength of a Comey indictment and whether or not he deserved an indictment and whether there was a workable case against the former FBI director.

I argued that was all missing the point: The Comey indictment should stand as a bright line — President Trump decreed that Comey should be indicted and found a sycophantic lawyer who was willing to be appointed to a position she was manifestly unqualified for where her sole job is to undermine the Justice Department’s independence and do the president’s bidding. Over the objections of senior and career federal prosecutors, who said there was not a case here to be made under DOJ standards, he then was indicted.

That’s something we’ve never seen in modern times — and a line that every president since Richard Nixon has tried hard to stay way clear of. Exactly a month before the Comey indictment yesterday, I argued America has tipped over that invisible line into authoritarianism and fascism. It’s hard to think of a more clear example of an authoritarian regime than a political enemy being charged with crimes simply because the president wants him to be. As Peru's fascist leader General Óscar Benavides famously said: “For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.”

Today we live in a country where the same standard applies.

In the wake of the 2015 terror attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, “Je Suis Charlie” became an international rallying cry as people recognized the particular brutality of that assault on freedom of speech.

Similarly, in this moment, as imperfect and flawed a vessel as he is — I know James Comey at this point has few fans on the left or the right — we are all James Comey.

As I say in the oped, I have been deeply critical of James Comey for years, believe as director he did grave damage to the reputation of the FBI and — ironically — that he bears no small responsibility for the original election of Donald Trump in 2016, but today, unequivocally: Je Suis James Comey.

GMG

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