Welcome to the beat. I'm Ari Melbert and we are following what it looks like when Donald Trump calls in an indictment, which he publicly did, a Nixonian admission that he wanted someone he opposes or doesn't like to be charged.

James Comey, that individual has been charged. And today it turns to court. It's really happening. The former FBI director appeared in court for the first time

since the DOJ indictment. So this is the beginning of the case. This is the beginning, if you will,

of the process that leads to a trial if the case holds and isn't tossed before them. He pled

not guilty today to the charges of lying to Congress back in 2020 around issues

that stem all the way back to Trump's first term. It's a pivotal moment in how this DOJ has

continued to bend to things that we know from the public record its own prosecutors and internal

staff appointed by Trump thought were wrong, bending to things that

they didn't want to do, sometimes having to change staff, Trump ousting the prosecutor there,

in order to get what he sees as his revenge indictments. Now, Comey's long been the subject of clashing

with Trump all the way back to how he did what he and others saw as his job. And remember, these issues have

long already been investigated. They've been reviewed by the DOJ's internal process. They were reviewed

by a prosecutor handpicked by Trump, John Durham, and other reviews. None of this, whatever one

thinks of it, has ever been seen by any other prior process to involve any misconduct of a criminal nature by James Comey.

And yet that is what Trump demanded be charged and what got charged. So we take a look back at a history that goes all the way to Trump's first presidential campaign.

The FBI director told Congress he is investigating whether there was any coordination between

people associated with the Trump campaign and the Russians.

The FBI, James Comey, has been fired.

Look, I've seen the tweet about tapes.

Lordy, I hope there are tapes.

Led to the indictment of dozens of people.

The head of Trump's campaign was a grave counterintelligence threat.

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