Grand jury indicts former FBI director James Comey
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury, marking a stunning turn in a yearslong political and legal saga.
Comey was indicted on two of three counts sought by prosecutors, one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment stems from the former director’s 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in the bureau’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement Thursday evening without directly stating Comey’s name.
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. We will follow the facts in this case.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi)
“No one is above the law,” she said. “Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.”
The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505. It also alleges that Comey made a false statement in violation of 18 USC 1001. If convicted on both counts, Comey could face up to 10 years in federal prison.
“Comey stated that he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment that statement was false,” the DOJ wrote in a press readout.
The subject of the DOJ’s investigation surrounded Comey’s Sept. 30, 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he stated under oath that he had not authorized leaks of information about the Clinton or Russia investigations. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has reportedly contradicted that account, and congressional investigators have long viewed Comey’s statement as perjurious.
During that hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) pressed Comey on whether he had ever authorized leaks to the media about the FBI’s investigations into Trump or Hillary Clinton.
“I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017,” Comey told Cruz. Asked whether former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was “not telling the truth” when he claimed otherwise, Comey replied, “I’m not going to characterize Andy’s testimony, but mine is the same today.”
The 5-year anniversary of that testimony is set to pass on Tuesday, a date that prosecutors were carefully eyeing due to the statute of limitations. Prior to the indictment, reports emerged that career prosecutors in the Eastern District warned Halligan that the evidence in the case may have fallen short of establishing probable cause.
Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel, who entered his position on a vow to weed out corruption from previous administration, also released a statement without naming the Obama-era bureau director but referenced his handling of the “Russiagate hoax” in a statement to X.
Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability. For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust. Every day, we continue the fight to…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash)
“Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability,” Patel wrote. “For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust. Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on.”
“Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose,” Patel continued. “Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch. No one is above the law.”
The case is being overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which recently underwent a leadership shake-up following the Trump administration’s removal of acting U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert. His replacement, Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump personal attorney, was sworn in earlier this week and is expected to lead several sensitive prosecutions.
JAMES COMEY INDICTMENT LOOMING? WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Trump allies have long accused Comey of misleading Congress and authorizing politically motivated leaks about the FBI’s probe into Trump campaign associates in 2016. In a post earlier this month, Trump urged Bondi to move “without delay” in pursuing charges against several former Obama-era officials, including Comey.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Grand jury indicts former FBI director James Comey
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury, marking a stunning turn in a yearslong political and legal saga.
Details of the charges have not yet been unsealed, but the indictment is believed to stem from Comey’s 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in the bureau’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement Thursday evening without directly stating Comey’s name.
“No one is above the law,” she said. “Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.”
The case is reportedly being overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which recently underwent a leadership shake-up following the Trump administration’s removal of acting U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert. His replacement, Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump personal attorney, was sworn in earlier this week and is expected to lead several sensitive prosecutions.
Trump allies have long accused Comey of misleading Congress and authorizing politically motivated leaks about the FBI’s probe into Trump campaign associates in 2016. In a post earlier this month, Trump urged Bondi to move “without delay” in pursuing charges against several former Obama-era officials, including Comey.
Trump on Thursday hailed the indictment as “JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!” Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Trump loyalist, and FBI Director Kash Patel, a longtime vocal critic of the Russia investigation, issued similar statements. “No one is above the law,” Bondi said.
The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Bondi is being weaponized in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies. It was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.
Comey was fired months into Trump’s first administration and since then has remained a top target for Trump supporters seeking retaliation related to the Russia investigation. He was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump appeared to appeal directly to Bondi bring charges against Comey and complained that Justice Department investigations into his foes had not resulted in charges.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Administration officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have declassified a series of documents meant to chip away at the strength of an Obama-era intelligence assessment published in January 2017 that said Moscow had engaged in a broad campaign of interference at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, Comey was picked by Obama to lead the FBI in 2013 and was director when the bureau opened the Russia investigation in the summer of 2016.
Trump fired Comey in May 2017, an action later investigated by Mueller for potential obstruction of justice.
The two-count indictment consists of charges of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Comey’s lawyer had no immediate comment.
After being let go, Comey authorized a close friend to share with a reporter the substance of an unclassified memo that documented an Oval Office request from Trump to shut down an FBI investigation into his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump and his allies later branded Comey a leaker, with the president even accusing him of treason. Comey himself has called Trump “ego driven” and likened him to a mafia don.
The Justice Department, during Trump’s first term, declined to prosecute Comey over his handling of his memos. The department’s inspector general did issue a harshly critical report in 2019 that said Comey violated FBI policies, including by failing to return the documents to the FBI after he was dismissed and for sharing them with his personal lawyers without FBI permission.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
