The Justice Department, acting in response to more bullying demands from Trump, has reportedly launched an investigation of George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist who has long supported democratic movements around the world. He has also contributed generously to U.S. Democrats. For this he should be prosecuted? Trump has demanded that Soros be thrown in jail.

Comey was indicted Thursday on one count of making a false statement and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding in connection with his testimony before a Senate committee in September 2020.

"He's a dirty cop," Trump said of Mr. Comey. "He's always been a dirty cop." The flimsy two-page indictment, signed only by Trump's personal lawyer and not, as usual, also by the prosecutors who gathered the evidence, hardly reads like an indictment of a "dirty cop." What an irony. Ask any Hillary Clinton supporter about James Comey and they'll probably remind you that Comey's handling of Hillary's email server, particularly in the closing days of the campaign, cost her the election. We all thought that Trump should thank him.

Comey is going to be tough to beat. He seemed almost to welcome the opportunity to take the fight to Trump. "We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn't either." He referred to his daughter, who was removed from her own post at the Justice Department last summer: "Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she's right, but I'm not afraid, and I hope you're not either."

The younger Ms. Comey is right. Trump turned the Eastern District of Virginia into the "tool of a tyrant" just as he is doing to the Justice Department. Being a tyrant is clearly what Trump wants and relishes. But whether it will wear well politically remains to be seen. Trump clearly does not believe that living well and outlasting the James Comeys is the best revenge. His taste for pure vengeance is insatiable, and he is willing to dwell in the gutter to get it. Trump was reportedly elated by the charges against Comey and insisted that there would be "others." Beware what you wish for. Whether the public wants to dwell in that gutter with him — rather than address the people's many legitimate worries — remains to be seen.

Susan Estrich is a celebrated feminist legal scholar, the first female president of the Harvard Law Review, and the first woman to run a U.S. presidential campaign. She has written eight books.