Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Virginia on charges of false statement and obstruction related to testimony he gave to Congress five years ago.
Comey, who is a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s ire, is accused of lying during testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020.
“The charges as alleged in this case represent a breach of the public trust at an extraordinary level,” said interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Halligan was installed in that post earlier this week when her predecessor resigned under pressure from Trump after he objected to filing criminal charges against Comey.
“The balance of power is a bedrock [principle] of our democracy, and it relies upon accountability and a forthright presentation of facts from executive leadership to congressional oversight,” Halligan said in a statement. “Any intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance is a violation of professional responsibility and, most importantly, the law.”
If convicted, Comey faces a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison. Federal criminal sentences are often less than the maximum because of federal guidelines.
The charges came days after Trump publicly complained to Attorney General Pam Bondi that “nothing is being done” about Comey and other of the president’s perceived enemies. Trump claimed those people were “all guilty as hell.”
Bondi referenced Comey’s indictment, without mentioning him by name, as news of the charges broke.
“No one is above the law,” Bondi wrote in a post on X.
“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 said. “We will follow the facts in this case.”
FBI Director Kash Patel, in his own post on X, wrote, “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,” Patel wrote. “Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on.”
Halligan, 36, has no prior prosecutorial experience, but previously represented Trump in legal cases.
She replaced Erik Siebert as interim U.S. attorney for Virginia’s Eastern District.
Siebert had been tasked with investigating Comey and another Trump foe, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a civil business fraud case against the president.
But Seibert’s probe of mortgage fraud claims against James turned up insufficient evidence to charge her, NBC News reported.
Siebert also raised concerns about a criminal case against Comey.
“I want him out,” Trump recently said of Siebert.
Trump has long expressed contempt for Comey, whom he fired during his first term in the White House in May 2017.
Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, condemned the indictment of Comey.
“Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to turn our justice system into a weapon for punishing and silencing his critics,” Warner said in a statement, which noted the circumstances of Siebert’s departure.
“This kind of interference is a dangerous abuse of power,” Warner said. “Our system depends on prosecutors making decisions based on evidence and the law, not on the personal grudges of a politician determined to settle scores. By ousting a respected, independent prosecutor and replacing him with a partisan loyalist, Trump is undermining one of the most important U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country and eroding the rule of law itself.”
