For an administration that has been all too willing to weaponize the Department of Justice, the recent indictment of former FBI Director James Comey marks a new low.

Comey’s purported crime came a year ago, when he posted a photograph on social media of seashells arranged as “86 47,” and writing, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” The Justice Department alleges that the photo constituted “a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States.” According to the president, eighty-six is “a mob term for ‘kill him.’”

Trouble is, most Americans use the slang term in the same way that Merriam-Webster defines it: to eject or ban a customer (i.e., “eighty-six them”), or “to reject, discontinue, or get rid of (something).” As acting Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged, the phrase 86 47 “is used constantly” by Americans who aren’t indicted for it. Comey’s post may have been in poor taste, but to state the obvious, it doesn’t equate to a murder hit.

Of course, actual threats of political violence should be taken seriously, as the recent presidential assassination attempt demonstrates. But such extremism must not be used as a pretext for political prosecutions, and this isn’t the first one Comey has faced.

Last year, the Justice Department indicted Comey on contrived charges of perjury and obstructing a congressional hearing, which were quickly dismissed. His real crime? As director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he had opened an investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, an effort that the president insists never happened. Former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan is being investigated for similar reasons. (A lead prosecutor in that case was reportedly removed after expressing reservations about it.)

In fact, this new case is part of a troubling pattern. Among other dubious proceedings under this president, the DOJ ordered charges to be withdrawn against former New York City Mayor Eric Adams in what one prosecutor called a “quid pro quo” over immigration policy, prompting multiple resignations. It has pursued a flimsy probe of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, clearly intended to pressure him to reduce interest rates. It has also taken a keen interest in mortgage fraud, at least when it comes to the president’s perceived enemies (Lisa Cook, Letitia James, Adam Schiff).

The message the administration is sending — crossing the president risks criminal charges, while playing ball can get you out of trouble — is a destructive one. And it may yet get worse.

Several of the president’s recent nominees for US attorney have almost no experience in criminal law. Their chief qualification seems to be their strident defense of Jan. 6 rioters. One was at the Capitol that day. Another blamed “antifa” and voted not to certify the 2020 election. None have any business leading US attorney’s offices. Republicans have forced the White House to back down in the past on unqualified nominations and should do so again. Retiring Senator Thom Tillis, who has said he won’t support any nominee for attorney general who has condoned the riot, offers a good example.

Some of the president’s loyalists contend that he’s merely treating his enemies the way they treated him. Not so. It’s fair to debate whether several local and state cases brought against him were tainted by politics, but the blatancy and scope of the political retribution now being pursued by the federal government has little precedent in American history.

If not out of concern for the rule of law, then for their own hides — since an unscrupulous Democratic president could engage in similar abuses of power — Republicans ought to bring this cycle of retribution to an end.

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