<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The Justice Department’s <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/us/politics/james-comey-indictment.html" title="">indictment of James B. Comey</a> for posting a photo of seashells has been roundly ripped by critics as a highly questionable move predicated on flimsy evidence that sacrifices prosecutorial credibility for President Trump’s fleeting favor.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">But the charges, which department officials claim were justified by a genuine threat to Mr. Trump’s life, reflect the new realities of an agency whose roiled leadership is more focused than ever on the president’s restless efforts to exact vengeance on his enemies.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">By firing Attorney General Pam Bondi — and then conspicuously declining to name her interim replacement, Todd Blanche, as the permanent successor — Mr. Trump has created an environment in which multiple officials seem to all be fighting for their jobs, according to current and former officials. The result is ever greater incentive to execute his increasingly extreme demands without much pushback.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Before ascending to acting attorney general, Mr. Blanche, a former Trump defense lawyer who <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-doj.html" title="">wants the job permanently</a>, gingerly <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/us/politics/todd-blanche-justice-department-trump.html" title="">cautioned the president</a> against taking actions he considered unwise, unlawful or unsupported by evidence, current and former officials have said.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Unlike many political appointees at the Justice Department, Mr. Blanche, a well-regarded former federal prosecutor in Manhattan serving as the agency’s No. 2 official, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/us/politics/erik-siebert-comey-letitia-james.html" title="">defended local federal prosecutors</a> who raised questions about the department’s ill-fated effort last September to indict Mr. Comey for lying under oath. Along with Ms. Bondi, he advised against the appointment of an inexperienced White House lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, as the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia to ram through a prosecution of the former F.B.I. director.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">As Ms. Bondi’s top deputy, Mr. Blanche also urged Trump advisers <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-doj.html" title="">against arresting and escorting Mr. Comey in handcuffs</a> last May after he <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/secret-service-comey-social-media-trump.html" title="">posted an image of shells</a> on a beach spelling out “86 47.” Mr. Comey said it was shorthand for politically nullifying, not killing, the 47th president, as many Trump supporters claimed.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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