Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a suburban Virginia federal court Wednesday to face what analysts called flimsy charges of lying to Congress after President Donald Trump demanded the prosecution of his longtime critic.
A federal judge set a Jan. 5 trial date after the nation’s onetime top law enforcement official pleaded not guilty to two felony counts during a brief hearing in the controversial case that was filed only after Trump ousted his hand-picked U.S. attorney who had declined to pursue the charges.
“Our view was the prosecution was brought at the direction of President Trump,” said Comey defense lawyer Pat Fitzgerald, a former top federal prosecutor.
Comey, who has sparred with Trump for years, was charged over his contested testimony at a 2020 hearing in which he denied authorizing media leaks of FBI investigations. He was freed without bond.
Legal analysts say the case against Comey is weak and prosecutors only acted because Trump demanded retribution against the man he bitterly blames for launching the probe into Russia campaign meddling that roiled his first term in the White House.
Comey’s legal team said he plans to raise claims of prosecutorial misconduct, malicious and selective prosecution. It will also challenge the prosecutor’s appointment.
Judge Michael Nachmanoff, who was appointed to the bench by ex-President Joe Biden, set an extraordinarily rapid schedule for the trial, which prosecutors said they expect to take just two or three days.
The indictment last month only came after Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against Comey and other perceived enemies, a shocking break with the longstanding principle that the criminal justice system should not be used to settle political scores.
A special counsel appointed by Trump in his first term found no wrongdoing by Comey after an exhaustive probe into the Russia campaign interference probe that stretched on for years.
When a veteran Virginia federal prosecutor also refused to pursue the case, Trump replaced him with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide who had never previously served as a federal prosecutor. Halligan rushed to file charges before a legal deadline lapsed despite warnings from other lawyers in the office that the evidence was insufficient for an indictment.
Ironically, Clinton and some Democrats also despise Comey because he publicly suggested there were new developments in the Clinton email probe just days before Election Day 2016, a bombshell they credit with handing Trump an upset win. Meanwhile, Comey kept secret the very existence of the investigation into Russian efforts to boost Trump’s campaign.
The two-count indictment says Comey made a false statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020, when he denied authorizing an associate to serve as an anonymous source and obstructed a congressional proceeding. A federal grand jury reportedly took the unusual step of refusing to hand up an indictment on a third count sought by prosecutors.
The indictment does not identify the associate but published reports say it is Daniel Richman, a Columbia professor and FBI consultant.
Comey was joined in court by his daughter Maurene, who was fired from her position as a senior federal prosecutor in Manhattan in what critics say was retaliation for being related to James Comey.
The case marks the latest twist in the toxic relationship between Trump and James Comey.
Trump fired Comey amid disputes over the Russia probe. The firing was investigated by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller as an act of potential obstruction of justice, but no charges were ever filed against Trump.
In a 2018 memoir, Comey compared Trump to a mafia boss and characterizing him as unethical and “untethered to truth.”
Comey faced questioning by federal agents last spring after he posted an image of beach shells arranged in the numbers “86 47,” which some critics say could be a threat against Trump, who is the 47th president.
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