Donald Trump is already freaking out over his inability to rig his upcoming lawsuit against former FBI chief James Comey after a Biden-era judge was appointed to oversee the case. U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, first appointed in 2021, was randomly assigned to the Comey case. The lawsuit, which has been referred to as “among the worst abuses in DOJ history,” is already seen as a severe test of the American justice system and the president’s ability to weaponize the legal system to exact revenge on his adversaries.
What am I missing? Why are they referring to the criminal indictment of Comey as a lawsuit?
Because it is? Criminal suits are also lawsuits. The indictment is the first step in that process. Even in cases where there is no clear individual plantiff, the governing body (city, state, or nation) fills that role.
All cases are brought before and served by a judge, and in this case there would be no jury, just a review, on legal precident, whether the charges put forth by the indictment are accurate or relevant to the legal code’s stated therein.
Essentially, this is a lawsuit, just one based on precedent, which really is vibe-based and heavily depends on the judge assigned to the case. When there is no precedent or the legal justification is vague, a jury is also assigned.
This must be the first time I’ve seen a criminal case referred to this way. Thanks for the explanation.
To be clear, an indictment is a document that kicks of the lawsuit process: “I acuse you of breaking X laws because I can present Y evidence to a judge proving you did that. Therefore, I sue you. Signed, law firm.”
It’s not commonly referred to that way though. If you’re on trial for murder you’re not referred to as “facing a lawsuit”, you’re referred to as on trial for murder! Comey’s on trial for a thing at least half of trump’s cabinet and all his SCROTUS picks are guilty guilty guilty of.