US Politics
Ty Cobb calls for Pam Bondi to be disbarred over Comey case
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A lawyer from Donald Trump’s first administration has called for Pam Bondi to be disbarred over the botched handling of the DOJ’s indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.
Ty Cobb, who was a member of Trump’s legal team from July 2017 until May 2018, hit out at the Department of Justice’s admission that it failed to submit the indictment of Comey to the full grand jury.
Speaking on MS NOW, he described the failure as “shocking” and suggested that it made the government’s case against Comey “dispositive.” He added that “Bondi should be disbarred,” as well as U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who submitted the indictment to the foreperson.
“You know, Bondi has twice submitted affirmations to this court about the propriety of Lindsay Halligan’s grand jury presentation,” he continued. “She knew this. There’s no way she could not have known this.
“And that just means that she lied, or that she’s equally incompetent, but more likely that she lied.”
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Cobb has long been a critic of Trump since leaving the White House, describing him as a “disaster for the Republican Party” in an interview with NBC News. He has also insisted that, although he served in Trump’s first administration, he never voted for the controversial GOP leader during a separate PBS interview.
His recent criticisms have been focused on the DOJ indictment of Comey, who faces one charge of making a false statement to Congress and another charge of obstructing a congressional proceeding.
The charges related to testimony given by Comey on September 30, 2020, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the FBI’s investigation into alleged links between the Russian Government and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Earlier this week, while speaking to CNN, Cobb claimed the DOJ’s case is “dead” and blasted Halligan for, as he described it, telling a grand jury that “Comey didn’t have a Fifth Amendment right at trial to refuse to testify.”
“And therefore, he would be able to give his explanation as to the events and counter the government’s evidence, which the judge noted appropriately was burden shifting,” he continued.
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The Comey case has been mired in controversy since it began, having been filed just before the five-year statute of limitations expired.
Also, Trump’s appointment of Halligan as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was widely criticized, as it followed the removal of Erik Siebert. Siebert had opposed bringing the charges against Comey.
The former FBI Director has pleaded not guilty to all charges of wrongdoing. In a motion filed in a federal court in Virginia, his lawyers have suggested that the case is “vindictive” and an “egregious abuse of power” by Trump.
The Independent has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
