Attorney General Bondi and prosecutors have reservations over charging James Comey, sources say

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, Katelyn Polantz, CNN

(CNN) — Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal prosecutors have concerns about the case against former FBI Director James Comey, sources tell CNN, though an indictment could come as soon as Thursday.

Bondi is facing pressure from Trump, who is demanding his political enemies face criminal charges as he once did. But attorneys inside the Eastern District of Virginia recently wrote a memo detailing their reservations over seeking the indictment.

Bondi has concerns about the case, which focuses on whether Comey made false statements during congressional testimony involving the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election, according to a person familiar with her thinking, though she believes it would be possible to bring an indictment.

The attorney general had dinner at the White House Rose Garden with Trump and others Wednesday evening.

At the White House Thursday, Trump said, “They’re going to make a determination. I’m not making that determination. I think I’d be allowed to get involved if I want, but I don’t really choose to do so.”

Comey, however, is a “bad person,” the president added.

The Justice Department declined to comment. ABC News first reported on the memo in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Should Bondi give the OK, Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney and the new top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia is prepared to present the case to a grand jury. Halligan has been spotted at the Justice Department twice this week, where sources say she was part of conversations over whether to charge Comey. Halligan has also had questions about the case, according to a source briefed on the discussions.

Publicly and privately, Trump has complained that prosecutors were willing to bring numerous criminal cases against him while he was out of office, noting that in those instances he was charged with whatever they had at the time, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The person added that Trump has repeatedly said that the Justice Department should bring the best case it can when it comes to his political opponents and let the court decide the rest.

“I just want people to act. And we want to act fast,” Trump told reporters Saturday as he departed the White House. “If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty, or if they should be charged, they should be charged, and we have to do it now.”

Some inside the White House view Halligan’s willingness to bring the case as her jumping on a grenade to please Trump – though that is why she was picked to take on the role of leading the Eastern District of Virginia. While several Justice Department officials are worried about the strength of any case against Comey, multiple political aides share a different view: they prosecuted Trump, so people like Comey deserve to be prosecuted, too.

“I’m always happy to talk about … Comey, who of course is corrupt, who of course has been engaged in vast amounts of illicit and unlawful conduct, who of course was at the center of the Russia gate attack and assault on American democracy,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Fox News on Wednesday night. “It has to lead somewhere to accountability.”

Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday called for Comey to be imprisoned for a host of Trumpworld grievances – many of which federal prosecutors have previously looked at and didn’t find reason to charge.

Navarro previously did time in federal prison for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas in the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election leading into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.

“There’s a lot of people out there who should be in prison in my judgment, and I think in the judgement of many people in the Trump Administration,” Navarro said. “James Comey’s at the top of that list now.”

CNN’s Britney Lavecchia contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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