Left: Former FBI Director James Comey denies allegations with claims of his innocence (James Comey/Bluesky). Right: Vice President JD Vance during his appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025 (Meet the Press/X).
On the day a fresh-faced top prosecutor and former lawyer for Donald Trump demanded an extensive protective order to guarantee an “equitable trial with unbiased jurors,” Vice President JD Vance declared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that former FBI Director James Comey “clearly lied under oath.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, along with North Carolina federal prosecutors Tyler Lemons and Gabriel Diaz, submitted documents on Sunday in advocacy of a protective order, citing the high-profile nature of the case and Comey’s social media statements asserting his “innocence” as justification for “restricting the use and dissemination of […] discovery,” given that both Comey and the prosecution desire “a fair trial with unbiased jurors.”
Vance, a Yale Law School graduate, told NBC’s Kristen Welker that it was evident Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James “obviously” broke laws, and that proof of the Trump administration’s adherence to “facts and the law” over presidential orders is the absence of charges against former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Welker: Is DOJ acting on orders from the president to prosecute his political opponents?
Vance: We’re prioritizing the law and facts— considering the fact that James Comey obviously perjured himself, Letitia James obviously engaged in mortgage fraud….
You… pic.twitter.com/hQ8p6hDnsE
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 12, 2025
“The president’s post last month, in which he urged his Attorney General Pam Bondi to take legal action against political figures like James Comey, Letitia James, and Adam Schiff, was intended as a private suggestion. With Comey and James now facing charges, is the Department of Justice acting under presidential orders to target political adversaries?” Welker questioned.
“No, we’re driven by the law and the facts of the case,” Vance replied, claiming a “far-left” grand jury in a “far-left area” of Virginia indicted both Comey and James. “If you look at the fact that James Comey obviously lied under oath, Letitia James obviously committed mortgage fraud, what we’re doing is letting the law drive the prosecution decisions in the Department of Justice.”
“You know who we haven’t prosecuted? Joe Biden or Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Unlike Biden’s Department of Justice, Kristen, which actually went after Donald Trump in the midst of an election, we are not doing that. We are letting the law drive these decisions, that’s exactly as it should be,” Vance continued.
The vice president then dismissed concerns about Trump’s role in the prosecutions, saying he’s “allowed to have opinions about the law enforcement of the federal government.”
“Did somebody break the law? If so, we’re going to prosecute them,” Vance articulated the administration’s claimed stance.
Contrast this with Vance separately telling George Stephanopoulos of ABC’s “This Week” that there’s nothing more to see regarding Trump administration “border czar” Tom Homan’s alleged acceptance of a $50,000 cash bribe, as Director Kash Patel’s FBI wouldn’t move forward with an investigation.
If @jdvance has never seen the videotape of Tom Homan accepting a $50k bribe (as he says in this clip), how can he possible know that Tom Homan did not commit a crime? https://t.co/CjOV2xd1uH
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) October 12, 2025
“Accepting $50,000 for doing what, George? I am not even sure I understand the question,” Vance said. “Is it illegal to take a payment for doing services? The FBI has not prosecuted him.”
In a Monday filing for U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff’s review, Comey’s legal team has pushed back on the government’s proposal that the protective order be applied to “almost all of discovery,” rather than being “selectively designate[d].”
The defense further cast it as absurd that the former FBI director, also a licensed attorney, former high-ranking DOJ official and federal prosecutor, cannot now be “entrusted with some of the most sensitive and highly guarded information in the country” as he fights false statement and obstruction charges.
“To assert now, that he cannot be trusted with receiving discovery in his case controverts his long career of distinguished government service at the highest levels. Moreover, no one knows the facts of this case better than Mr. Comey himself,” the filing continued. “It places his defense at a severe and unnecessary disadvantage to insist that he be prohibited from possessing Protected Material to be able to review and refer to whenever necessary throughout preparation of his defense.”
