Former FBI Director James Comey has been criminated on two felonious charges by a civil grand jury in Virginia. The charges stem from allegations that he prevaricated to Congress during his September 2020 evidence about whether he authorised the leak of classified information to the media.
Comey, a longtime target of review from President Donald Trump, contended not shamefaced in a statement. “ I’ve great confidence in the civil judicial system, ” he said. He also posted a videotape declaring, “ I’m innocent. Let’s have a trial. ”
The charge comes just days after Trump prompted Attorney General Pam Bondi to ramp up examinations into his political opponents, including Comey. The case is being led by Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and a former Trump counsel. Comey’s censure is listed for the morning of October 9 in Alexandria, Virginia, CBS reports.
Bondi said in a statement that the charge “ reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power responsible for misleading the American people. ”
Comey faces one count of making false statements and one count of inhibition of justice. Prosecutors had asked the grand jury to consider three charges, but jurors only set up enough substantiation to move forward with two. A grand jury is a panel of citizens who decide if there’s probable cause to bring charges.
This marks the first time a former FBI director has been criminally charged.However, Comey could face up to five times in captivity, If condemned. His counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald, said his customer denies the charges and added, “ We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom. ”
Charging documents charge Comey of “ deliberately making a materially false statement ” by telling a U.S. assemblyman he had n’t authorised anyone at the FBI to be an anonymous source for media reports. Prosecutors purport he had, in fact, directed someone to give information anonymously to journalists about an FBI disquisition. They also claim he “ corruptly ” tried to obstruct a Senate Judiciary Committee inquiry with “ false and deceiving statements ” around September 30, 2020.
The case, one of the loftiest- profile complaints of Trump’s alternate term, landed just before the five- time enactment of limitations was set to expire. It was lately reassigned to Halligan after the Trump administration fired Erik Seibert, the original U.S. attorney overseeing it.
Trump has intimately vented frustration at what he calls detainment in executing his critics. “ They impeached me doubly, and incriminated me( 5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! ” he posted on Truth Social last week. After charges were filed, he called Comey “ one of the worst mortal beings this country has ever been exposed to ” and added, “ He’s now at the morning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation. ”
Legal experts say the case wo n’t be easy to prove. “ Indeed if James Comey got effects wrong, that does n’t mean he deliberately or resignedly prevaricated to Congress, ” said Laurie Levenson, a former civil prosecutor and law professor at Loyola Mary mount University. She also noted that Trump’s public pressure shows “ the traditional firewall between the White House and the Justice Department has collapsed. ”
Several Egalitarians condemned the charge. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called it “ a shy attack on the rule of law ” and pledged responsibility for “ anyone complicit in this nasty corruption. ”
Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 to 2017, had a tumultuous term. He oversaw the high- profile disquisition into Hillary Clinton’s emails just weeks before the 2016 election, which she lost to Trump. Trump latterly fired him amid the inquiry into Russian election hindrance.
This is n’t the first time Comey has drawn scrutiny this time. The Secret Service delved him over a now- deleted social media post of seashells arranged to spell “ 8647, ” which some Republicans claimed was a enciphered trouble to Trump. The number 86 can mean “ to get relieve of ” or “ to kill ” in shoptalk, while Trump is the 47th U.S. chairman.
In July, Comey’s son Maurene, a longtime civil prosecutor in New York, was fired without explanation. She latterly sued the Trump administration over her redundancy The Justice Department has also removed other attorneys who worked on cases that infuriated Trump.
