Good evening from New York. I'm Chris Hayes. Donald Trump's Department of Justice announced this

evening that former FBI director James Comey has been indicted by a grand jury on two counts,

making a false statement and obstruction. Now, the charges stem from Comey's testimony before Congress

back on September 30th, 2020,

and that specific date is very important because the statute of limitations on these charges is five years,

which means the last possible date to charge Comey with this crime lying during that testimony

would be September 30th, 2025, that is, next Tuesday.

In a statement, the brand new U.S. attorney prosecuting Comey, Lindsey Halligan,

fresh on the job, having never, ever prosecuted a single case, wrote, quote,

the balance of power as a bedrock principle of our democracy.

It relies upon accountability and a forthright

presentation of facts from executive leadership to congressional oversight, mispelling the word

principle. In a post on social media, Attorney General Pam Bondi said today, quote,

Today's indictment reflects this Department of Justice's commitment to holding those who

abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the

American people. FBI director Cash Patel said, quote, for far too long, previous corrupt

leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging one's proud institutions,

and severely eroding public trust. Of course, that is exactly what is happening here.

Donald Trump's administration and the enablers around it are very clearly and forthrightly abusing federal law enforcement in a way

that we have not ever seen, at least since Nixon and probably before then, to punish political opponents. People who say things they don't like,

people have taken political actions they don't like, or law enforcement actions they do not like.

Trump can barely even bring himself to deny that he is personally directing these investigations

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