Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz delivered a scathing assessment of President Donald Trump’s role in the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, stating that the prosecution was orchestrated by the White House in an unprecedented departure from traditional Justice Department independence.
During a September 25, 2025 appearance on Fox News’ “Special Report,” Kurtz bluntly declared: “Let’s not mince words here.” The former MediaBuzz host, speaking as a political and media analyst, criticized Trump’s direct involvement in what he characterized as a politically motivated prosecution.
Kurtz detailed how Trump systematically removed obstacles to pursue the case against Comey. The president fired his own appointee as U.S. attorney in Virginia, Erik Siebert, because Siebert believed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against the former FBI director. Trump then recruited his former personal attorney, Lindsey Halligan, to fill the top prosecutor position in the Virginia district where the case would be filed.
The Fox News analyst emphasized that Trump’s actions represented a complete orchestration of the criminal case. Kurtz noted that while the president claims to be leaving decisions to the Justice Department, Trump has been very open about his direct involvement in pressuring prosecutors to pursue his political adversaries.
The indictment against Comey was filed on September 26, 2025, charging him with lying to Congress. The charges stem from Comey’s testimony that he had not authorized anyone at the FBI to serve as an unnamed source in news reports about an unspecified investigation. Comey has maintained his innocence regarding the allegations.
Kurtz provided historical context for the significance of Trump’s intervention, explaining that in previous administrations, any hint of presidential contact with a criminal case would constitute a scandal on its own. The analyst suggested that the public has become desensitized to such direct political interference in Justice Department proceedings.
The case represents the culmination of a long-standing feud between Trump and Comey, dating back to Trump’s first administration. Trump fired Comey in 2017 while the FBI director was overseeing an investigation into possible connections between Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign.
Trump’s involvement in the prosecution became particularly evident through his public communications on Truth Social, where he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue his political enemies with urgency. Kurtz referenced these posts as evidence of the president’s direct role in orchestrating the legal proceedings against Comey.
The Virginia district office that ultimately filed the charges against Comey had been under pressure to indict individuals Trump viewed as adversaries. Siebert’s removal and replacement with Halligan, who had previously served as both a White House aide and Trump’s former defense lawyer, demonstrated the lengths to which the administration went to secure the indictment.
Kurtz’s criticism represents a notable departure from typical Fox News coverage supportive of Trump’s actions. The analyst’s background as a former Justice Department reporter lent additional credibility to his assessment of the unprecedented nature of the presidential interference in criminal proceedings.
The timing of Kurtz’s comments on the Special Report panel coincided with the formal announcement of Comey’s indictment, highlighting the immediate controversy surrounding the prosecution’s origins. The analyst’s willingness to characterize the case as completely orchestrated by Trump underscored concerns about the politicization of federal law enforcement.
