Observers experienced a tingle of déjà vu this week as they watched the Department of Justice indict James Comey on charges that he threatened his political rival, President Donald Trump.
That was quickly followed by a social media video posted by the former FBI director, defending himself. Then on Wednesday, Comey made the obligatory trek to a federal courthouse, appearing before a judge.
A nearly identical sequence played out last fall, when the justice department brought different charges against Comey - later tossed by a judge.
And much like that first case, legal experts expressed scepticism about the department's allegations and a possible conviction. They pointed to the legal thresholds prosecutors must meet, constitutional free speech protections, and Trump's public statements about Comey as potential vulnerabilities for the prosecution.
"It's a very weak indictment, and it doesn't seem to me that it's a chargeable case," said Evan Gotlob, partner at DarrowEverett and a former federal prosecutor.
