What’s next?
Washington, Sep 26 (EFE).-
The indictment of James Comey, the former FBI director who investigated the alleged ties between United States President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, is just the beginning of a controversial judicial process.
Comey, head of the FBI from 2013 until he was fired by Trump at the beginning of his first term in 2017, was indicted Thursday by a grand jury in Virginia for false statement and obstruction.
The charges were filed by the Department of Justice, days after Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to act against his political opponents.
On Thursday, Bondi announced the indictment on her X account:
“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,” she wrote.
Specifically, Comey is being accused of lying during a 2020 congressional appearance when he denied leaking the investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia to the press, which Comey denies.
The charges were presented in the Eastern District of Virginia, a state neighboring Washington, by the recently appointed interim chief prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, 36, who is also Trump’s former personal lawyer, appointed after Erik Siebert’s resignation last week.
Siebert allegedly resigned under pressure from the president to indict New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Comey, who are critical of the president.
The New York Times then reported that Siebert, who was respected in Trump’s circle, had expressed his reluctance about the strength of the case against Comey.
Only five days after her appointment, Halligan filed the charges in a closed-door grand jury meeting in Virginia.
The court document only bears Halligan’s signature, who was also not accompanied by the Department of Justice lawyers when she argued before the grand jury.
According to the court record, Comey must appear before the Eastern District of Virginia court on Oct. 9, a familiar setting for the former US Deputy Attorney General, who previously served in that Virginia district between 1996 and 2001.
The randomly assigned judge is Michael Nachmanoff, who was appointed in 2021 by former Democratic President Joe Biden (2021-2025) and has served the least time on that federal court.
On Friday, Trump defended the indictment on his social platform, Truth Social:
“There is no way he can explain his way out of it. He is a Dirty Cop, and always has been, but he was just assigned a Crooked Joe Biden-appointed Judge, so he’s off to a very good start,” he said.
At the arraignment, Comey’s lawyers will be able to ask the judge to dismiss the accusations and use judicial procedures to draw public attention to the statements of Department of Justice officials and Trump before the trial.
In a brief but emotional video message, Comey responded: “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial, and keep the faith.” He assured viewers that he is “not afraid” of the threats. EFE
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