In his 2023 book Government Gangsters, Kash Patel, now the director of the FBI, described a "deep state" conspiracy against Donald Trump that he equated with a conspiracy to subvert democracy and the Constitution. An appendix to the book listed 60 "Members of the Executive Branch Deep State," whom Patel described as "corrupt actors of the first order." The list included former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017 out of anger over the FBI's investigation of alleged ties between his presidential campaign and the Russian government.
After Trump picked Patel to run the FBI, the nominee assured the Senate Judiciary Committee that, despite his vow to "come after" the "conspirators," there would be "no politicization at the FBI" and "no retributive actions" against the president's enemies. Thursday's indictment of Comey, which charges him with two felonies based on allegedly false congressional testimony in September 2020, epitomizes the emptiness of that promise.
As Patel tells it, the indictment, which was filed just a few days before the charges would have been barred by the five-year statute of limitations, is not a "retributive action." Rather, it is "another step" in keeping the FBI's "promise of full accountability." It just so happens that accountability in this case coincides with pursuing one of the president's many personal vendettas.
