President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, on his final day as president on Jan. 20, 2025.

WASHINGTON − The indictment of James Comey upended decades of policy aimed at keeping Justice Department investigations independent of the White House and sparked a firestorm of criticism about President Donald Trump's political enemies being prosecuted.

Trump said he didn't get involved in the federal criminal case against his former first-term FBI director but prodded his second-term Attorney General Pam Bondi on social media to pursue charges. Democrats and civil libertarians said Trump corrupted the system of justice by getting involved.

Comey proclaimed his innocence and invited a trial on the charges he made a false statement and obstructed Congress in 2020. Legal experts warn that the U.S. government's charges might be difficult to prove. One federal prosecutor resigned rather than secure an indictment, and the grand jury in eastern Virginia declined to indict on one of three charges by Trump's handpicked successor.

Here are four takeaways from the Comey indictment:

Trump shifted from not knowing about case to celebrating it

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the afternoon of Sept. 25 that he wasn't aware of whether Comey would be charged. But hours later, a couple of social media posts from the Republican president called the Comey, 64, a liar and "a Dirty Cop."

Last weekend, Trump had urged Bondi on social media to charge Comey and others "NOW!!!" because further delay was "killing our reputation and credibility." The charges are based on Comey's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020, and a claim that the former FBI director falsely said that day that he hadn't “authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports" regarding the bureau's investigation into the Trump 2016 campaign and its ties to Russia. The clock had been ticking on a five-year statute of limitations tied to Comey's testimony from that hearing date.

Trump told reporters he chose not to be involved in the case even though he could have been. But the president had recently voiced disappointment in former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned after the criticism, and chose Lindsey Halligan, one of his personal lawyers and a White House staffer, to succeed him.

“JAMES COMEY IS A DIRTY COP," Trump said in a social media post Sept. 25.

Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Sept. 26 that the charges are not retribution. "This is about justice, not about revenge,” Trump said.

Comey declared his innocence in a social media post and welcomed a trial.

Comey prosecution departs from decades of Justice Department norms

In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal 50 years ago, when President Richard Nixon was accused of investigating his political enemies, presidents and the Justice Department kept their distance to ensure the independence of criminal prosecutions.

But Trump has taken the position that as head of the executive branch, he can hire or fire any staffer and potentially direct criminal prosecutions. He criticized a prosecutor − Siebert − for not charging Comey.

After Siebert resigned, Trump's handpicked replacement, Halligan, secured the indictment.

Trump told reporters Sept. 25 that he chose not to get involved in the Comey investigation but that he could have. He told reporters Sept. 26 that Comey is "a dirty cop" and "the only problem is he got caught."

"It's about justice," Trump said. "Really, it's not revenge."

But Democrats and civil libertarians said presidents aren't supposed to direct criminal investigations. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said his investigations of Trump during the Biden administration involved following the facts and the law − without direction from the White House.

Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Biden's handling of classified documents and prosecuted the president's son with gun and tax charges.

Comey's case “appears to be an astonishing and corrosive assault on the rule of law," said Andrew Birrell, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

“The Justice Department's foundational principle of independent prosecutorial decision-making has been upended,” Birrell said. "The question isn't whether an apparently trumped-up charge will prevail, but why the prosecutor, a former personal lawyer for the president, with no prosecutorial experience, thought fit to present an allegation whose legal gravity would scarcely trouble the scales of justice without the downward pressure of a thumb.”

Mike Zamore, national director of of policy and government affairs at the ACLU, said Trump corrupted the system of justice by investigating, arresting and prosecuting officials who displease him.

“Presidents must not target their critics − full stop,” Zamore said. "That’s not how America is supposed to work.”

Prosecutors could have trouble winning a conviction, experts say

Though securing an indictment is relatively easy for prosecutors, Siebert declined to pursue charges before Trump fired him. But the interim prosecutor Trump chose to succeed him secured indictments on two of three charges she sought, according to court records.

The indictment relates to Comey’s testimony Sept. 30, 2020, to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Comey, who testified remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, was charged with making a false statement and obstructing Congress. The third proposed count was also about a false statement.

Prosecutors accuse Comey of falsely saying that day that he hadn't “authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports" in The Wall Street Journal about an investigation of Hillary Clinton.

Comey stuck by his testimony. The Justice Department’s inspector general had reviewed the allegations and in 2018 found Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director, “lacked candor” in his statements about the leak.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and a longtime constitutional scholar, said he was confident Comey would be acquitted. He said Siebert resigned because he "refused to concoct and endorse baseless charges" against Comey.

Trump continues to target other political rivals

The Comey prosecution raised concerns among Democrats and civil libertarians that Trump would wield the Justice Department against other political targets.

"I hope there will be others” charged, Trump told reporters as he left the White House Sept. 26.

John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, is facing a federal investigation examining whether he unlawfully retained classified documents after leaving office.

Another even higher-profile target would be former President Barack Obama, whom Trump accused of treason without any evidence over the Russia investigation that would engulf his first term in the White House. Obama called it a “weak attempt at distraction.”

Possible other targets include Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, who secured a $454 million judgment against Trump before it was overturned on appeal.

And Trump has his sights set on Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, who led the first House impeachment against Trump over his dealings with Ukraine.

Prosecutors are looking into Democratic donor George Soros and his Open Societies Foundation for alleged terrorism and racketeering. The organization has denied any criminal activity. Others under investigation include former CIA Director John Brennan over the Russia inquiry and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on accusations of mortgage fraud. Both have denied wrongdoing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Presidents, precedent, enemies and the law: 4 takeaways from the James Comey indictment

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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