Former White House attorney Ty Cobb on Thursday had strong words for President Donald Trump and his administration, decrying his apparent weaponization of the Department of Justice during a Thursday appearance on MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber.”Cobb has long been an outspoken critic of what he sees as the Trump administration’s level of corruption, and minced no words when asked about the recent indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.“Well, I think what we’re seeing is authoritarianism and tyranny that we’re now under, and the disintegration of the rule of law under [U.S. Attorney General] Pam Bondi’s stewardship and her fealty to the president — as opposed to her oath of office,” Cobb said Thursday.He doubled down when asked if he thinks Bondi knowingly violated that oath.“Well, let’s parse that out,” Cobb told Melber. “Her testimony was that there would be no enemies list at the Justice Department. Clearly there is. Does she know what’s going on? She was directly ordered by the president to bring these charges.”Comey was indicted last month on charges of lying to Congress after Trump pressured Bondi to prosecute his political enemies. The ex-FBI chief pleaded not guilty Wednesday and is set to stand trial in January. His legal team has expressed a desire to avoid trial.James was indicted on Thursday on allegations of bank fraud for allegedly misrepresenting information on official paperwork about properties she owned in New York and Virginia. Trump went on an unhinged social media rant about her last week, calling James “scum.”Both indictments are being brought by Lindsey Halligan, who Trump handpicked to replace Erik Siebert as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Trump publicly urged Bondi to fire Siebert in a Truth Social post.“Did she appoint Lindsey Halligan to be the U.S. Attorney, even though she was unqualified and the appointment was illegal?” Cobb continued on Thursday. “Yes. So my answer to all your questions is ‘absolutely.’”Melber then asked if Halligan is not “legally, validly serving” her post, and if her hastened appointment could be a “problem” for the cases against Comey and James.“I do believe that to be the case,” said Cobb, who served as White House attorney during the first Trump administration. “There’s only one opinion on this issue issued thus far in the existence of Section 546, and that was written by [U.S. Supreme Court] Justice [Samuel] Alito when he was assistant attorney general in 1986.“That makes it very clear that, after serving 120 days, only the district court has the authority to appoint a new U.S. attorney — and that didn’t happen here,” Cobb argued.Cobb argued that the Comey indictment is particularly “unworthy” because federal prosecutors reportedly already told Halligan in a memo that there’s insufficient evidence that he lied while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020 to indict him.He also noted that things are different now, as Trump has thrown all caution to the wind.“This term, the president feels unleashed,” said Cobb. “It clearly is his belief that he’s entitled to do whatever it is he wants, and once he decides what he wants, the only issue is how quickly can you do this for me? Pam Bondi delivered Comey and now has delivered James.”He continued, “Hopefully America will understand that that’s not really what the country was supposed to be about. It shouldn’t be what it’s about. And ideally it’s something that people will rise up, unite and push back on.”Close