Ex-FBI director James Comey indicted on two charges related to testimony to Congress

Ex-FBI director James Comey has been indicted on two charges relating to statements made during his testimony to congress in 2020.

The former FBI Director has been charged with making a false statement and obstruction in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute Comey and other perceived political enemies.

Prosecutors have been evaluating whether Comey lied to lawmakers during his 30 September, 2020, testimony related to the investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The indictment was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.

The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official involved in one of Trump's chief grievances, the long-concluded investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, to face prosecution. Trump has for years derided that investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign, and has made clear his desire for retribution.

The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi is being weaponized in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies.

Trump on Thursday hailed the indictment as “JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!” Bondi, a Trump loyalist, and FBI Director Kash Patel, a longtime vocal critic of the Russia investigation, issued similar statements. “No one is above the law,” Bondi said.

Comey, in a video he posted after his indictment, said: “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.”

Comey was fired months into Trump’s first administration and since then has remained a top target for Trump supporters seeking retaliation related to the Russia investigation. He was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump appeared to appeal directly to Bondi bring charges against Comey and complained that Justice Department investigations into his foes had not resulted in criminal cases.

“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

Lingering anger over the Russia investigation

Trump has for years railed against both a finding by US intelligence agencies that Russia preferred him to Clinton, a Democrat, in the 2016 election as well as criminal investigation that tried to determine whether his campaign had conspired with Moscow to sway the outcome of that race.

Prosecutors led by special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish that Trump or his associates criminally colluded with Russia, but they did find that Trump’s campaign had welcomed Moscow’s assistance.

The indictment comes against the backdrop of a Trump administration effort to recast the Russia investigation as the outgrowth of an effort under Democratic President Barack Obama to overhype Moscow’s interference in the election and to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s victory.