Scott MacFarlane is CBS News’ Justice correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting has resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.
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Washington — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday on two counts, marking a major escalation in President Trump’s efforts to target his political opponents and use the Justice Department as part of his campaign to seek retribution against his most ardent critics.
Comey was charged with one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice, related to Senate testimony he gave almost five years ago. A majority of grand jurors did not approve indicting him on an additional count of lying to Congress, according to court papers — an unusual development since grand juries rarely reject charges.
In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi alleged that Comey “obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information” and made a false statement to Congress.
“Comey stated that he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment that statement was false,” Bondi’s statement read.
“No one is above the law,” Bondi wrote on X. “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.”
Mr. Trump celebrated the indictment in a Truth Social post, calling the former FBI director — whom he fired in 2017 — “One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to.”
Comey asserted his innocence in a video on Instagram and said, “there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump.”
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system. And I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial. And keep the faith,” he said.
Comey’s attorney, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, said in a statement: “Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety. We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom.”
Comey is set to be arraigned on the morning of Oct. 9 in Alexandria, Virginia. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden.
Comey charges focus on testimony to Congress
The indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia as the clock ticked down on the five-year statute of limitations for charges arising out of his September 2020 testimony to Congress, which was set to expire Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Comey appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020 to answer questions about the origins of the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, known as “Crossfire Hurricane.” The probe, which has frustrated Mr. Trump for years, was later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller.
During that hearing, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas asked Comey about earlier testimony in 2017 denying having been an anonymous source or authorizing another FBI official to be an anonymous source for news reports about the FBI’s investigations into Mr. Trump or Hillary Clinton. The probe involving Clinton examined her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.
Comey told Cruz in 2020 that he stood by his earlier testimony.
But a lawyer for Andrew McCabe, Comey’s former deputy, said in 2018 that McCabe authorized the disclosure of information to a Wall Street Journal reporter in 2016 about the Clinton investigation with Comey’s knowledge. The lawyer made the claim in response to an investigation by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, which found McCabe “lacked candor” when he told Comey, or led Comey to believe, that he had not authorized the disclosure.
Thursday’s indictment called Comey’s statement that he hadn’t authorized anybody to serve as an anonymous source “materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent.”
Comey testified before Congress from his home in McLean, Virginia, which is why the former FBI director was investigated in the state’s eastern judicial district.
The charges come just days after the president tapped his former defense lawyer and White House aide, Lindsey Halligan, to temporarily lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, took over as interim U.S. attorney following the abrupt departure of Erik Siebert amid apparent pressure from the president and his allies to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The Comey indictment is signed only by Halligan, and no other rank-and-file prosecutors’ names appear on the charging documents.
Halligan said in a press release, “The charges as alleged in this case represent a breach of the public trust at an extraordinary level.”
Siebert informed staff on Friday, Sept. 19, that he had resigned, an announcement that came after multiple sources told CBS News that prosecutors in his office were concerned Siebert could be removed for failing to prosecute James for alleged mortgage fraud. James has denied any wrongdoing. Mr. Trump has said he fired Siebert.
The president publicly voiced frustration to Attorney General Pam Bondi for the lack of action against Comey, James and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, another political opponent, and warned on social media it was “killing our reputation and credibility.”
“They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Mr. Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social, referring to the federal and state criminal cases brought against him.
He announced Halligan as his pick to lead the Eastern District of Virginia shortly after, writing she is “fair, smart and will provide desperately needed, JUSTICE FOR ALL!”
Comey and Mr. Trump have sparred for years. Comey served as FBI director from 2013 until he was fired by Mr. Trump in 2017, during the president’s first White House term.
That firing ultimately set into motion Mueller’s special counsel investigation into allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and that the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denounced those allegations as a “hoax.”
For his part, Comey has been a vocal critic of Mr. Trump since his firing, calling him “morally unfit” to be president in a 2018 interview.
Earlier this year, Comey provoked an outcry from the Trump administration after he briefly posted a photo on social media that administration officials alleged was a call for violence against Mr. Trump. As a result, Secret Service agents interviewed Comey for about an hour and a half.
In an interview, Mr. Trump said it was “loud and clear” that Comey was calling for his assassination, telling Fox News that any charges for the post should be left to Bondi. Comey denied advocating violence.
Since returning to the White House for a second term, the president has been engaged in wide-ranging efforts to go after his political opponents and has used different levers of the federal government to do so. His administration revoked security clearances from former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, among others. He also directed that security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials be rescinded.
Mr. Trump also ended Secret Service protection for Harris, former national security adviser John Bolton, and Biden’s two children, Hunter and Ashley Biden.
