Jack Smith’s former right-hand man joins Comey’s defense team
A key member of former special counsel Jack Smith’s legal team, Michael Dreeben, is joining teh defense team of former FBI director James Comey. comey faces felony charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding related to his 2020 Senate testimony. He has pleaded not guilty and claims the case is politically motivated, linked to antagonism from the Trump-era Justice Department.Dreeben previously played a meaningful role in Smith’s prosecution efforts against former President Donald Trump, particularly in Supreme Court arguments about presidential immunity in election interference cases. Comey is the first former FBI director ever to be arraigned, and his defense recently gained a legal advantage when a judge rejected prosecutors’ attempts to limit the evidence he can access before trial. The article also notes Comey’s investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign ties to Russia and references the broader political context and disputes surrounding these cases.
Jack Smith’s former right-hand man joins Comey’s defense team
A lead member of former special counsel Jack Smith’s legal team is joining forces with former FBI Director James Comey, who faces charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
Michael Dreeben will now beef up the legal team defending Comey, according to Politico.
Comey became the first former FBI director in history to face arraignment earlier this month after being indicted in September. Comey has suggested he faces a politically motivated case driven by antagonists at President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, and he is pleading not guilty to two felony counts related to his 2020 Senate testimony, including one for allegedly lying to Congress about authorizing a subordinate to speak with reporters and another for obstructing a congressional proceeding.
Dreeben previously led Smith’s team in delivering arguments before the Supreme Court that Trump does not have absolute immunity for official acts. The debate around absolute immunity became an issue when Smith led the Biden DOJ’s election-interference prosecution against Trump. Trump argued the case was weaponized against him for political purposes, and he contended he was innocent of the DOJ’s charges that he sought to overturn the 2020 election during his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, due to an interpretation of the Constitution that he held absolute immunity for acts he committed as president.
The Supreme Court issued a ruling on the matter largely in favor of Trump last year, dealing a blow to Dreeben and Smith’s election-interference case.
Similar to Trump, Comey is now arguing his indictment was politically motivated as retribution for the cases he brought against the president as FBI director.
The FBI, under Comey, launched an investigation in 2016 into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian efforts to influence the election. Trump has long called the investigation a “hoax” after it fizzled out following yearslong scrutiny.
Comey received a slight boost in his case to plead his innocence earlier this week when a judge rejected federal prosecutors’ effort to impose broad restrictions on the evidence Comey can access ahead of trial.
Dreeben’s assignment to the Comey case comes after he was on former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team that probed Trump over suspicions he colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.
Trump has long called the investigation a “witch hunt” and framed it as an effort by the deep state to end his career.
After scrutinizing Trump for nearly two years, Mueller closed the investigation in 2019. The then-special counsel said there was no evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government.
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