Former FBI Director James Comey indicted
CNN
By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Aileen Graef, Katelyn Polantz, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, CNN
(CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.
Comey, a longtime adversary of the president, is now the first senior government official to face federal charges in one of Trump’s largest grievances: the 2016 investigation into whether his first presidential campaign colluded with Russia.
“JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Comey has been charged with giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, and he could face up to five years in prison if convicted, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Both charges relate to his September 30, 2020, testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Comey testified that “he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source,” the department said. “According to the indictment that statement was false.”
Comey responded to the indictment in an Instagram video, saying, “Let’s have a trial. And keep the faith.”
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I’m innocent,” Comey added.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X, “No one is above the law.”
“Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people,” Bondi wrote. “We will follow the facts in this case.”
The charges were presented by Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney and the new top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia. She was not accompanied by any career prosecutor and is the only Justice Department official who signed the charging documents.
During a brief hearing, a judge announced the new case against Comey and said publicly that 14 jurors agreed to indict on the counts of false statements in the jurisdiction of a congressional proceeding and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
Previous concerns about charges
The indictment Thursday evening comes as CNN previously reported concerns Bondi and prosecutors have had about the case.
Bondi is facing pressure from Trump, who is demanding his political enemies face criminal charges as he once did. But attorneys inside the Eastern District of Virginia recently wrote a memo detailing their reservations over seeking the indictment, ABC News first reported.
Bondi had concerns about the case, which focuses on whether Comey made false statements during congressional testimony involving the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election, according to a person familiar with her thinking, though she believes it would be possible to bring an indictment.
Late Thursday, Bondi replied to CNN’s reporting, stating, “That is a flat out lie.”
The attorney general had dinner at the White House Rose Garden with Trump and others Wednesday evening.
‘I just want people to act’
Publicly and privately, Trump has complained that prosecutors were willing to bring numerous criminal cases against him while he was out of office, noting that in those instances he was charged with whatever they had at the time, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The person added that Trump has repeatedly said that the Justice Department should bring the best case it can when it comes to his political opponents and let the court decide the rest.
“I just want people to act. And we want to act fast,” Trump told reporters Saturday as he departed the White House. “If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty, or if they should be charged, they should be charged, and we have to do it now.”
Some inside the White House view Halligan’s willingness to bring the case as her jumping on a grenade to please Trump – though that is why she was picked to take on the role of leading the Eastern District of Virginia. While several Justice Department officials are worried about the strength of any case against Comey, multiple political aides share a different view: they prosecuted Trump, so people like Comey deserve to be prosecuted, too.
“I’m always happy to talk about … Comey, who of course is corrupt, who of course has been engaged in vast amounts of illicit and unlawful conduct, who of course was at the center of the Russia gate attack and assault on American democracy,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Fox News on Wednesday night. “It has to lead somewhere to accountability.”
Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro this week called for Comey to be imprisoned for a host of Trumpworld grievances – many of which federal prosecutors have previously looked at and didn’t find reason to charge.
Navarro previously did time in federal prison for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas in the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election leading into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.
“There’s a lot of people out there who should be in prison in my judgment, and I think in the judgement of many people in the Trump Administration,” Navarro said. “James Comey’s at the top of that list now.”
CNN’s Britney Lavecchia contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional developments and details of the charges from the Justice Department.
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