With Comey, Brennan, Soros, Trump steps up his retribution campaign
President Donald Trump, who took office in January with a pledge to seek retribution against his political foes, made clearer than ever his eagerness to use the weight of the Justice Department against his perceived enemies this week.
Asked by reporters Friday who was next on his list a day after the DOJ brought a two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, Trump said, "It’s not a list -- but I think there will be others."
Comey, who Trump fired from his post in 2017, had been a target of Trump since he oversaw the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
"JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey," Trump wrote on social media following Thursday’s indictment. "He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation."
The former FBI chief has been charged with making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of an investigative proceeding before Congress, related to his 2020 congressional testimony regarding the FBI's Russia probe.
Comey, who said in a statement that he was innocent of the charges, said in an Instagram video, "My family and I have known for years that there are costs for standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees and you shouldn't either."
The charges were brought by the newly appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, who took over the role after Trump ousted U.S. attorney Erik Siebert after sources say Siebert expressed doubts internally about bringing a case against Comey.
"What they did was so terrible and so corrupt," Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday, referring to those involved in the Russia probe. "Comey placed a cloud over the entire nation."
Trump, in the same interview, hinted at potentially charging former CIA Director John Brennan in relation to the Russia probe.
"We’ll have to see what happens. It is up to the Justice Department, but I can tell you, it is a group of people that was very disappointing," Trump said. "This makes Watergate look like peanuts."
Comey's indictment came just days after top federal prosecutors at U.S. attorney's offices around the country received a directive to prepare to launch investigations into the Open Society Foundations, a group funded by the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, on potential charges ranging from support of terrorism to racketeering, sources told ABC News.
"This DOJ, along with our hard-working and dedicated U.S. Attorneys, will always prioritize public safety and investigate organizations that conspire to commit acts of violence or other federal violations of law," a DOJ spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations called the accusations "politically motivated attacks."
FBI Director Kash Patel disputed accusations that the DOJ's probes were motivated by politics.
"Career FBI agents, intel analysts, and staff led the investigation into Comey and others," he posted online Friday. "They called the balls and strikes and will continue to do so. The wildly false accusations attacking this FBI for the politicization of law enforcement comes from the same bankrupt media that sold the world on Russia Gate -- it’s hypocrisy on steroids."
Democrats like Sen. Peter Welch weren't buying it.
"President Trump and his Justice Department's indictment of James Comey is a new low for our democracy. The reason for the indictment is clear: Comey is Trump's political adversary," Welch wrote on X.
Asked by reporters about the indictment on Friday, Trump said, "They weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history. What they've done is terrible. And so I hope -- frankly, I hope there are others, because you can’t let this happen to a country."
"It's about justice, not revenge," Trump said. "It’s about justice."
ABC News' Rachel Scott contributed to this report.
