Free speech group calls foul play at prosecutors using Comey novel in case against him
PEN America condemns lawyers using passage from thriller to bolster claim ex-FBI director intended to harm Trump A leading US free-expression group has hit out at federal prosecutors’ use of a novel written by former FBI director James Comey in their case accusing him of threatening to kill Donald Trump . “Citing a novel to save an indictment that is constitutionally dubious is a desperate Hail…
The American free-speech advocacy group, PEN America, has criticized federal prosecutors for using passages from former FBI director James Comey's novel, FDR Drive, in their case against him. The group argues that citing a novel to bolster a claim that Comey intended to harm Trump is a desperate move and should be rejected. Prosecutors, representing the Trump administration, argued that Comey sent coded messages through his novel, which features a federal prosecutor who believed a far-right media personality should be stopped.
The novel's main character even suggests "something should be done" about his enemies, including Sam Buchanan, a fictional character. Comey's lawyers maintain that the post was protected speech and did not constitute a "true threat" against the president, emphasizing that no reasonable observer would interpret "86 47" as a violent threat.
They also claim that Comey's arrest is a result of vindictive and selective prosecution due to the president's animosity towards him.
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