ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - FBI Director James Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 3, 2017, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

A conviction may be besides the point for the Justice Department as it pursues case against Comey

September 26, 2025

Now that it’s secured an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, the Justice Department faces the significantly tougher task of building a case it can prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Yet a conviction may be almost beside the point. As the administration pursues investigations into President Donald Trump’s political enemies, officials have signaled that making life uncomfortable for targets of the retribution — including through reputational harm, legal fees and lingering uncertainty — is a desired goal in its own right, separate and apart from the ability to secure a guilty verdict.

FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel speak during a news conference at the Department of Justice, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Justice Department to try to charge ex-FBI Director James Comey, AP sources say

September 24, 2025

The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment as soon as Thursday against former FBI Director James Comey on allegations that he lied to Congress as prosecutors approach a legal deadline for bringing charges. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter. Officials are hoping to file the case in the Eastern District of Virginia days after President Donald Trump appealed to his attorney general to charge Comey and other perceived political adversaries and following Trump’s replacement last week of the office’s top prosecutor with a White House aide who had served as one of his one personal lawyers.

FBI Director Kash Patel appears before the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Democrats press FBI director on Epstein files and other takeaways from his testimony to Congress

September 17, 2025

FBI Director Kash Patel has defended the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as he returned to Capitol Hill for a second day to face intense questioning from Democrats over his promises of transparency surrounding the convicted wealthy financier’s case. The political blowback over the Trump administration’s decision in July not to publicly release more investigative files from Epstein’s case was at the center of Patel’s five-hour appearance Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee hearing. It followed an at-times raucous hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Bondi moves forward on Justice Department investigation into origins of Trump-Russia probe

August 4, 2025

Attorney General Pam Bondi is moving forward with a Justice Department investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. Her action follows the recent release of documents by the Trump administration aimed at undermining the legitimacy of that inquiry. Bondi has directed a prosecutor to begin presenting evidence to a grand jury after referrals from the Trump administration’s top intelligence official. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. Fox News first reported the development.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to reporters as President Donald Trump listens, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump mired in Epstein controversy as Wall Street Journal reports on 2003 letter

July 17, 2025

The controversy over President Donald Trump’s handling of records from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation entered a new dimension Thursday as his administration struggles to make good on its promises to release details on the sex trafficking case involving a one-time friend of the now-president. Trump threatened a lawsuit after The Wall Street Journal on Thursday described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Trump denied writing the letter. Trump in recent days has berated supporters vying for more records from the Epstein probe, after years of courting political support from those who have stoked claims of a coverup in the case.

Justice Dept. fires more prosecutors, support staff involved in Trump prosecutions, AP sources say

July 12, 2025

The Justice Department has fired additional lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter. The overall number of terminations was not immediately clear. But they cut across both the classified documents and election interference prosecutions brought by Smith, and included a handful of prosecutors who were detailed to the probe as well as Justice Department support staff and other personnel who aided them. The people who confirmed the firings spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel moves that have not been publicly announced.

ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER.