(MENAFN) Former FBI Director James Comey announced on Monday that he is seeking to have federal charges against him, allegedly directed by US President Donald Trump, dropped.

Comey faces accusations of lying and obstruction during his congressional testimony about the Trump-Russia investigation tied to the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won. He maintains that the charges are illegitimate and a product of a personal vendetta by the president. Comey has pleaded not guilty to both counts.

“Objective evidence establishes that President Trump directed the prosecution of Mr. Comey in retaliation for Mr. Comey’s public criticisms and to punish Mr. Comey because of personal spite,” said Comey’s attorneys in court documents. They added that he was “singled out” for prosecution because of his public criticisms of Trump, noting that the president has openly expressed his animosity toward Comey.

Legal experts caution that the bar for dismissing a criminal case on the grounds of selective or vindictive prosecution is high. Defendants must prove in court that prosecutors acted with specific animus, leading to charges that would not have otherwise been filed.

Comey’s lawyers cited a social media post by Trump before the indictment as evidence, pointing to the tweet: “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” They argued that it constituted a directive from the president to Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue the charges.

As the case unfolds, legal analysts suggest that judges may be more receptive to Comey’s claim of being unfairly targeted due to the unusually high number of public attacks made by Trump and other administration officials against him and other perceived political enemies.

The Justice Department has previously issued criminal indictments to other figures, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton.

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