Summary
- Former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty to charges.
- Accused of lying and obstructing Congress in 2020 testimony.
- Indicted after President Trump pressured the DOJ despite weak evidence.
Comey appeared in federal court for the first time on Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, to answer to charges related to his 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony in which he denied approving leaks to the media.
“Thank you, your honor,”
Comey said inside the courtroom after charges were read.
“Thank you very much.”
Although a trial date has been tentatively set for January 5, 2026, Comey's lawyers are anticipated to attempt to have the case dismissed entirely, pointing to Trump's "vindictive" prosecution and the fact that the president appointed his own lawyer to pursue the case against him.
Comey's lawyers are drafting a move to disqualify Virginia U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, and according to his defense attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, his team will also charge the government with "outrageous" behavior and grand jury abuse.
A jury would need to concur that he intentionally and knowingly misled senators about a matter relevant to a topic at the heart of the 2020 Senate hearing in order to find him guilty of making false statements to Congress.
The FBI's involvement in the Trump-Russia probe was the main topic of the hearing, but Comey's alleged false comments to the committee are related to a different 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton's foundation.
Comey is currently facing charges of lying regarding whether he gave permission for an FBI agent to serve as a source for The Wall Street Journal, which released an article in October 2016 about an investigation into Trump's former Democratic opponent just before the election, which Trump won.
During the session, Republican Senator Ted Cruz questioned Comey about whether he had ever given permission for "someone else at the FBI" to be an anonymous source. Comey said that he was sticking to his earlier testimony, which stated that he had not given permission for a leak.
His testimony was allegedly fraudulent, according to the indictment, and Comey had given permission for someone else, who is not named in the indictment, "to serve as an anonymous source in news reports" regarding the FBI's Clinton investigation.
An inspector general investigation from 2018 supported Comey's story, stating that Andrew McCabe, the deputy FBI director at the time, had given FBI employees permission to speak to The Wall Street Journal in 2016. However, when Comey and other officials confronted McCabe about the source of the leak, McCabe "lacked candor."
The following month, a few days before he was supposed to retire, McCabe was let go from the FBI.
McCabe told CNN last month that it's "unbelievable" that he was never contacted by law enforcement over the case.
Prosecutors decided that a key witness, Comey's longtime friend Daniel Richmond, a law professor at Columbia University, would prove "problematic" and probably prevent them from building a case, according to an internal memo in which career prosecutors outlined their reasons for not pursuing an indictment, ABC News reported.
According to the letter, the prosecution would face "likely insurmountable problems" as a result of Richman's testimony.
However, Comey was charged when Trump was successful in getting the acting head of the Eastern District of Virginia U.S. Attorney's Office to step down.
Then, even though she had no prior prosecution expertise, he appointed another of his old personal lawyers to the position.
Last month, the grand jury decided to indict him after Lindsey Halligan, in a very unusual move, presented the case to them herself.
Twelve or more jurors rejected Halligan's initial three allegations against Comey, stating that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him. He may spend up to five years behind bars if found guilty of the two other offenses.
What are the specific charges and alleged false statements against Comey?
Comey is charged with willfully making false statements under oath when he stated that he had not authorized anyone at the FBI to leak information to the media regarding ongoing investigations of Hillary Clinton, known as "(PERSON 1)" in the indictment, and into the Russia election interference investigation.
Prosecutors point to his denials of authorizing leaks that were reported in the press.
The indictment charges that Comey "corruptly endeavored to influence, obstruct, and impede" the Senate Judiciary Committee by giving false testimony and testimony that was meant to mislead the investigation.