Former FBI director James Comey has pleaded not guilty to lying to Congress in a case US President Donald Trump demanded the Department of Justice pursue against his longtime foe. Comey made his first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday, facing charges stemming from his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, when he denied authorising leaks to reporters. “I’m not afraid, and I hope you’re not, either,” Comey said in a video message responding to his indictment last week, The Independent reported. “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system.” Comey — whose firing by Trump during his first term led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller — has long been a target of the president and his allies following his investigation into whether Trump’s associates coordinated with Russian figures to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. That investigation overshadowed Trump’s first term and cast a shadow over his 2024 campaign, fueling a campaign of retribution he promised against perceived political enemies. The case against Comey marks the most significant prosecution of Trump’s perceived opponents yet, after he explicitly directed the Justice Department to investigate Comey and others. Trump, along with former Attorney General Pam Bondi and her reshaped Justice Department, is also targeting prominent Democratic officials, progressive groups, and other ideological opponents allegedly tied to acts of terrorism. Comey, a registered Republican who had worked for the Justice Department since the 1980s, is the first former senior government official facing criminal charges under Trump’s retribution campaign, which the president even mentioned in a Truth Social post by labeling him “one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to.” Prosecutors investigating his Senate testimony had previously rejected charges, citing insufficient evidence that he gave false testimony. Comey was ultimately charged after Trump pressured the acting head of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia to resign and appointed a former personal attorney, Lindsey Halligan, who presented the case to a grand jury that voted to indict him last month. If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison. To be found guilty of making false statements to Congress, a jury would have to agree that he knowingly and willfully deceived senators on an issue central to the 2020 Senate hearing, which focused on the FBI’s role in the Trump-Russia investigation. The allegation of false statements also involves a separate investigation into Hillary Clinton’s foundation in 2016. What the indictment alleges According to the two-count indictment, Comey is accused of making a false statement during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30, 2020. Prosecutors claim Comey denied authorising an associate to act as an anonymous source for the media and that he attempted to obstruct a congressional proceeding. Comey has firmly denied the allegations and said he looks forward to defending himself in court. The indictment, however, offers few details — it does not name the associate in question or specify what information may have been shared with reporters, making it difficult to gauge the strength of the case or the clarity of the accusations. While an indictment usually marks the beginning of a lengthy legal process, the Justice Department has already portrayed it as a significant step forward. Officials in the Trump administration are expected to hail any conviction as vindication of their case, while a dismissal or acquittal could just as easily be spun as evidence supporting their narrative that the justice system is biased against them. (With Inputs from AP)
