Justice Department Argues It’s OK if It’s Under Trump Control
In an August 18 filing in the Eastern District of North Carolina opposing James Comey’s vindictive-prosecution motion, federal prosecutors argued that presidential direction of subordinates exercising executive functions is “a feature, not a bug” of the constitutional system, and characterized the tradition of Justice Department independence from the White House as a historical “myth.” The filing simultaneously maintained that U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle faced no pressure and that Attorney General Todd Blanche did not discuss the case with him until the day before trial. Comey is charged over a 2025 Instagram post; his motion cites the President’s public demand that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi pursue him. The episode is significant because Department lawyers are advancing a legal theory that formally dissolves the norm of prosecutorial independence rather than merely violating it in practice. The Washington Post, CNBC, and Bloomberg Law covered the same filing on August 19.