Jim Comey: A Man of Many Faces, None Of Which Are Speech Martyrs

Forty-two judges take a stand in the dumbest group letter ever

The prosecution of James Comey is the latest End of Democracy panic, so press mania is expected. A group letter signed by 42 retired judges, however, takes a grotesque step, turning Comey into a speech martyr:

For the first time in American history, the bedrock First Amendment right of American citizens to disagree with their president and their government and to express their views and opinions on any matter they wish — including their president — is under unprecedented attack by the President of the United States.

The Trump era being a time of soaring virtue-signaling and boundless partisanship, there’s been no shortage of open letters. Our own Greg Collard put together a painstaking compilation earlier this year. A few already earned places in history books for sheer dishonesty (the “51 Spies” letter comes to mind), but this new effort shatters the Guinness shamelessness record.

Judges stayed quiet as colleagues handed down sentences after the government charged people like John Kiriakou, Daniel Hale, Terry Albury, and Chelsea Manning with the Espionage Act for talking about torture, war crimes, our “targeted killing” drone assassination program, and other minor state peccadilloes. Apparently Justices also had to keep mum when thousands were removed from the Internet for disagreeing with the previous administration on issues like Covid. But trespassing on the “speech” of James Comey was a bridge too far.

What these justices are calling “First Amendment” activity is concocting pretexts for investigation, leaking classified information, perjury, and false accusation. They’re arguing officials should be able to smear with impunity. Recapping Comey’s “speech”: