Former FBI Director indicted for allegedly lying to US Congress – JURIST

Former FBI director James Comey was indicted on Thursday for allegedly lying to Congress following pressure from US President Donald Trump, who considers Comey one of his political rivals.

An indictment is a formal charge brought by prosecutors and approved by a grand jury, which allows a case to proceed within the court system. A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Comey on two counts: false statements and obstruction of Congress. If found guilty, Comey could face up to five years in prison.

The first count alleges that around September 30, 2020, Comey made a false claim in front of Congress by stating he had not “authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports.” The document asserts that Comey at the time knowingly authorized a third party to do just that, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1001(a)(2).

The second count, obstruction of a congressional proceeding (18 U.S.C. §1505),  further alleges that through Comey’s false statements made on that same day, he did “corruptly endeavor to influence, obstruct and impede the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which an investigation was being had before the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

The jurors rejected the third count alleged by government prosecutors, on another false statement. The reasoning behind the grand jurors’ decision remains unknown. Grand jury deliberations are not made public unless the court decides otherwise.

Comey actively denies all allegations. He replied in a social media post saying:

Fear is the tool of the tyrant … but I am not afraid … My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have hope for the federal judicial system and I am innocent. So, let’s have a trail and keep the faith.

Following the court filing, Trump responded in a social media post himself, stating that Comey is a “destroyer of lives,” and that “a very big price must be paid” for his actions. Just last week, the Trump administration forced out the previous prosecutor on this case, Erik Siebert. Siebert and his office refused to continue the investigation into Comey’s case, as well as those into some other Trump foes. Trump subsequently criticized Siebert, pressuring him to resign last Friday. Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan, one of his former aides, as the new US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, even though she holds no prior prosecutorial experience.

This all follows a pattern of Trump’s growing influence over the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Comey’s daughter, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, was fired from her role in July. The DOJ has routinely been firing attorneys who hold any stance in opposition to Trump’s agenda.