DOJ Cites James Comey’s Novel in Effort to Support Criminal Case
Federal prosecutors are drawing on James Comey’s 2025 thriller FDR Drive as they try to keep a criminal case against the former FBI director alive. The move has prompted a sharp response from PEN America, which says using fiction in this way raises serious First Amendment concerns.
Federal prosecutors have turned to James Comey’s fiction in an unusual effort to bolster their case against the former FBI director. In a filing earlier this week, the Department of Justice cited Comey’s legal thriller *FDR Drive* as part of its argument that he should face criminal charges for allegedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump.
A novel enters a criminal case
According to the filing, prosecutors say Comey’s book contains a scenario similar to the one they are now trying to use against him: a right-wing podcaster in *FDR Drive* sends coded signals to followers that appear to encourage violence against an enemy. The government’s filing is aimed at preventing the case from being dismissed, and it also includes a starred *Publishers Weekly* review of the novel. That review ends by saying the book “proves that Comey the crime novelist is here to stay.”
The case stems from the Trump administration’s effort to treat a social media post by Comey as a threat. Prosecutors point to a photo he shared of seashells arranged on a beach to spell “86-47,” which they say was meant to suggest harm to Trump. Comey’s lawyers have asked the court to throw out the case.