Former FBI director James Comey's indictment and a looming government shutdown.

Much to discuss with our friends Brooks and K. Part, that's New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan K. Part of MSNBC.

It's great to see you both.

So David, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Lindsay Halligan, had been on the job for just four days when she went before a grand jury seeking this extraordinary, unprecedented indictment of James Comey.

How do you view the charges themselves and the process that led to these charges?

I view it the way every other sentient human being views it as an erosion of our democracy, blatant one.

You know, you want your prosecutors to ask themselves one question.

Well, two.

Did this person commit a crime and can we prove it?

And clearly, that's not the way you can think if you're in the Justice Department these days.

The only question you have to ask yourself is, does the President want me to do this?

And that's just a violation of our basic fundamental principles.

And so I wish I had something sophisticated to say.

But when you look at what the actual indictment is, it claims that he knew that somebody else did some leak.

Well, it's so flimsy. You can see why they've been deciding not to prosecute this case over and over and over again,

and to do it a week before the term runs out with a prosecutor's never prosecuted anything before.

It's the obvious. It's a violation of our democracy.

Jonathan, how does all of this strike you?

Look, when it comes to democracy and threats to democracy, there will be no daylight between me and David.

I come at this with the same view.

You know, justice is supposed to be blind.

It is supposed to be meted out without fear or favor of the powerful and certainly without pressure from the president.

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