Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that the Department of Justice sought another grand jury indictment of former FBI Director James Comey because acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wants to remain in the post full-time.
Schiff made the remarks during an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC's "Meet the Press."
What the Left Is Saying
Schiff, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California from 1987 to 1993, said he had never seen such a weak case as the one brought against Comey.
"It's the fact that the president has called upon him to prosecution," Schiff said. "It's the fact that Todd Blanche wants to keep this job. It's the fact that Pam Bondi didn't successfully bring a case against one of the president's enemies."
The California Democrat argued that the indictment, returned by a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina on Tuesday, was politically motivated because Comey is a political opponent of President Trump.
"I think this case is likely to be thrown out even before it goes to a jury," Schiff predicted. "It will absolutely be thrown out by the jury."
Schiff also joked that prosecutorial overreach in weak cases would become known as "seashells cases," referencing the seashell arrangement Comey posted to Instagram last May that formed the numbers 86-47, which prosecutors allege was a threat against Trump.
What the Right Is Saying
Earlier Sunday on the same program, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Welker that Trump could ask him to do whatever he chooses and he would be happy to carry out his duties.
Blanche also noted that the indictment of Comey did not result solely from the Instagram post, which Comey deleted and has denied was intended to promote violence. The three-page indictment states that Comey "did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon" Trump by posting the image.
Trump, the 47th president, said this week that the post was intended as a threat against him. In restaurant slang, the term 86 means to throw out or discard.
What the Numbers Show
Trump has not nominated Blanche, who has run the DOJ since dismissing former Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, to the full-time role.
The grand jury in North Carolina returned the indictment on Tuesday. The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department under Blanche's acting leadership.
Schiff served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1987 to 1993 in California's Central District before entering Congress, where he later chaired the House Intelligence Committee.
The Bottom Line
The Comey indictment represents an escalation in the administration's prosecution of a former FBI director who was central to earlier investigations into Trump. Schiff's comments add Democratic voices criticizing the case as politically motivated rather than grounded in legitimate law enforcement.
Blanche has not been nominated for permanent confirmation as attorney general, despite serving in the acting role since early April. Legal experts are watching whether the case proceeds and how courts respond to the novel charges stemming from a social media post.
The case is expected to face immediate challenges over First Amendment implications and the evidentiary standard required for a threat conviction.