Bombshell Twist: Trump’s Lead Prosecutor SUDDENLY VANISHES From James Comey ‘Seashells’ Case | Watch

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]The Justice Department prosecutor leading the criminal case against former FBI director James Comey [music] has abruptly stepped down just weeks after the controversial prosecution was unveiled, adding [music] a fresh twist to one of the most politically charged legal battles of Donald Trump's second term.

[00:00:16]A court filing on Friday revealed that Assistant US Attorney Matthew Petraka, the sole prosecutor initially assigned to the case in North Carolina, has been replaced by Assistant US Attorney Timothy Severo. The Justice Department offered no explanation for the change.

[00:00:31]Comey is facing charges over an Instagram post showing seashells arranged [music] to form the numbers 8647.

[00:00:37]Prosecutors argue the message amounted to a threat against President Donald Trump, the 47th US president, citing the slang use of 86 to mean eliminate or get rid of.

[00:00:47]The former FBI chief has strongly denied the allegation, saying he [music] photographed the shells during a beach walk and was unaware the numbers could be interpreted as a call for violence.

[00:00:58]The post was removed after it sparked outrage among Trump [music] supporters and conservative commentators.

[00:01:06]The case has become a flash point in Washington, pitting the administration's claim that the post crossed legal boundaries against critics who argue the prosecution is politically motivated.

[00:01:16]Comey's legal [music] team is expected to seek dismissal of the indictment before the case reaches trial, arguing that the social media post is protected [music] speech under the First Amendment.

[00:01:26]The unusual prosecutor switch is likely to fuel further scrutiny of a case already under the national spotlight.

[00:01:32]With jury selection scheduled for October 21st, [music] the legal fight is increasingly becoming a test of where US courts draw the line between controversial political speech and criminal [music] conduct.

[00:02:07]>> The legal battle surrounding former FBI director [music] James Comey made a dramatic return to Washington this weekend only to hit an immediate judicial wall.

[00:02:19]A federal judge in DC, US District [music] Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, ruled that the Justice Department could not use certain evidence tied to Comey's long-time associate Daniel Richman as prosecutors attempt to revive the collapsed case against the former bureau chief.

[00:02:39]In a sharply [music] worded order, Judge Kollar-Kotelly granted Richman a temporary restraining order blocking the DOJ from accessing or using material extracted from his electronic devices during earlier investigations in 2019 and 2020.

[00:02:58]She wrote, "The court concludes that petitioner Richman is entitled to a narrow temporary restraining order to preserve the status quo while the court evaluates his motion for return of property."

[00:03:13]She added that the facts presented weigh in favor of entering a prompt temporary [music] order before the government has filed a response.

[00:03:24]The Fourth Amendment at the center.

[00:03:28]Richman, a law professor and former [music] attorney for Comey, had sued the government alleging prosecutors breached his [music] Fourth Amendment rights by seizing data and maintaining a full copy of his personal files without a warrant.

[00:03:43]The judge signaled those arguments were likely to succeed writing that Richman had shown evidence the government violated his Fourth Amendment right by retaining a complete copy of all files on his personal computer and searching that image without a warrant.

[00:04:01]In response, the court ordered the Justice Department to identify, segregate, and secure all material seized from Richman's devices.

[00:04:11]Prosecutors were barred from opening, accessing, or using any of the files without explicit [music] court approval and were told to comply by noon on Monday.

[00:04:23]This directly impacted evidence prosecutors had previously relied upon when indicting Comey on allegations of false statements [music] and obstructing Congress tied to his 2020 testimony about unauthorized FBI leaks to the press.

[00:04:41]Comey, Clinton, and the 2016 connection.

[00:04:46]Earlier filings showed Richman, once designated a special employee of the FBI, had been accused of communicating with reporters about inquiries linked to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and her election loss to Donald Trump. The DOJ leaned heavily on that digital evidence in the discarded prosecution.

[00:05:08]But with Saturday's ruling, that window closed, at least temporarily, until the judge completes her full review. The restraining order remains in effect through December 12th unless the court extends it.

[00:05:22]The timing of the judge's intervention was pivotal. The DOJ had been weighing a new indictment against James Comey after the earlier case was dismissed [music] last month when another federal judge ruled that the lead prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed.

[00:05:40]For now, the Justice Department is blocked. Richman's lawsuit moves forward and the effort to re-prosecute the former FBI director faces yet another obstacle, one not of politics, but of constitutional limits.

[00:06:02]>> The Justice Department faced a major setback on Thursday as prosecutors reportedly failed to secure a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James. This comes less than 2 weeks after the original criminal case against James was dismissed, unraveling a stunning and fast-moving legal saga.

[00:06:26]James, long a political target of President Donald Trump and widely recognized for her successful civil fraud case against him, had previously been indicted on charges of bank fraud and making false [music] statements to a financial institution.

[00:06:43]She has consistently denied any [music] wrongdoing, and on Thursday, she repeated that message, calling the accusations baseless and urging an end [music] to what she described as the unchecked weaponization of the justice system.

[00:06:58]She thanked the grand jury and said she would continue focusing on the people of New York.

[00:07:04]The initial case collapsed on November 24th [music] when a judge ruled that Lindsey Halligan, Trump's former personal attorney, who had been appointed acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was unlawfully installed [music] in the role. Halligan, who lacked prosecutorial experience, had presented the first set of charges alone. After the ruling voided that indictment, the Justice Department considered an appeal, but ultimately chose to pursue a new untainted presentation before different grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia.

[00:07:41]While Thursday's decision is a significant moment, it does not prevent prosecutors from trying again.

[00:07:49]A report warned there should be no premature celebrations, [music] emphasizing that grand jury outcomes can shift over time. The Justice Department, following [music] policy, offered no public comment.

[00:08:02]Meanwhile, prosecutors are also weighing whether to revisit a separate case involving former FBI Director James Comey, another indictment dismissed on the same grounds [music] as the case against Letitia James.

[00:08:20]>> I'm grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking.

[00:08:33]This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the President of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies.

[00:08:47]I don't care what your politics are, you have to see that is fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free.

[00:08:55]I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again, and my attitude's going to be the same.

[00:09:01]I'm innocent, I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary.

[00:09:07]The gift from our founders that protects us from a would-be tyrant.

[00:09:11]>> Sure, we'll be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal to hold Letitia James and James Comey accountable for their unlawful conduct. We have made Lindsey Halligan a special US Attorney, so she is in court, she can fight in court just like she was, and we believe we will be successful on appeal, and I'll tell you, Lindsey Halligan, I talked to all of our US attorneys, the majority of them, around the country, and Lindsey Halligan is an excellent US attorney, and shame on them for not wanting her in office.

[00:09:44]>> A federal judge has dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The judge concluded that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump's urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. The orders make Lindsey Halligan the latest Trump administration prosecutor to be disqualified because of the manner in which they were appointed. Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, was appointed after a different interim US attorney, Eric Siebert, was effectively forced out amid pressure from the Trump administration to file charges against Comey and James. The rulings are a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration's efforts to target the president's political opponents. Both defendants had asked for the cases to be dismissed with prejudice so that the Justice Department would not be able to refile, but the judge dismissed them without prejudice. It was not immediately clear if or how the Justice Department might attempt to revive the prosecutions.

[00:10:42]>> Uh no, because Lindsey Halligan was legally appointed, and that's the administration's position. I know there was a judge who is clearly trying to shield Letitia James and James Comey from receiving accountability, uh and that's why they took this unprecedented action to throw away the indictments against these two individuals, but the Department of Justice will be appealing very soon, and it is our position that Lindsey Halligan is extremely qualified for this position, but more importantly was legally appointed to it.