Former FBI Director James Comey has officially been indicted, with a federal grand jury in Virginia charging him on Thursday with making a false statement and obstruction of justice tied to his 2020 testimony before Congress.
Comey, who for years has been a top target of Donald Trump’s attacks, is accused of lying during his September 30, 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee appearance. Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, newly installed this week after her predecessor resigned under Trump’s pressure, said the charges amount to “a breach of the public trust at an extraordinary level.”
Halligan emphasized that the balance of power depends on honesty from officials. “Any intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance is a violation of professional responsibility and, most importantly, the law,” she said. The indictment landed just before the five-year statute of limitations would have expired. If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison, though federal sentences typically fall below the maximum.
The timing follows Trump’s very public complaints that the Justice Department wasn’t moving fast enough against Comey and others he considers enemies. He wasted no time gloating on Truth Social: “JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to… was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts… He has been so bad for our Country for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Trump ally, echoed the theme in her own post, writing, “No one is above the law.” New FBI Director Kash Patel went further, claiming the indictment shows the Bureau is turning a page: “For far too long, corrupt leadership weaponized federal law enforcement… under my leadership this FBI will confront the problem head-on.”
The indictment itself zeroes in on Comey’s testimony about a leak to The Wall Street Journal regarding the Justice Department’s 2016 probe of Hillary Clinton’s emails. Comey swore he neither authorized nor knew about the disclosure. But his former deputy Andrew McCabe has said the opposite, insisting Comey was informed. Senator Ted Cruz flagged the contradictions in late 2020, warning that “one of them is lying under oath — a federal crime.”
The move has already sparked political backlash. Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, blasted Trump for replacing Erik Siebert, an independent prosecutor, with Halligan — a loyalist and former Trump attorney with no prosecutorial background. Warner called the indictment “a dangerous abuse of power,” accusing Trump of weaponizing the justice system to punish critics.
Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, now faces a legal fight that could determine not only his future but the precedent for how far presidential influence reaches into the Justice Department.
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