Federal prosecutors in Virginia have indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of obstruction of Congress and making false statements, following days of public pressure from President Donald Trump urging the Justice Department to move swiftly against what he has described as his political enemies.
A grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned a two-count felony indictment against Comey on Thursday. The charges stem from Comey’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020 concerning the FBI’s investigation into possible links between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
The obstruction charge accuses Comey of misleading Congress during that hearing, alleging that he made false statements that interfered with lawmakers’ oversight functions. The indictment, however, does not specify the precise statements that form the basis of that count.
The second charge focuses on Comey’s denial under oath that he had authorized FBI officials to speak anonymously with the media about sensitive investigations involving Trump or his 2016 election opponent, Hillary Clinton.
According to the indictment, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe told investigators from the Justice Department’s inspector general that Comey had authorized him to brief a reporter on aspects of the FBI’s investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
In a video message posted online Thursday night, Comey forcefully denied the allegations and suggested that the prosecution was politically motivated, portraying it as retaliation orchestrated by Trump.
“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” Comey said. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system. I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial.”
Comey appeared to reference recent turmoil involving his family. Earlier this year, his daughter, Maurene Comey, was dismissed from her role as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, where she had served for nearly a decade.
In addition, Troy Edwards, a senior federal prosecutor in Alexandria who is married to another of Comey’s daughters, resigned on Thursday, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Edwards, the deputy chief of the office’s national security section, submitted a brief resignation letter stating that he was stepping down “to uphold my oath to the Constitution and country.”
President Trump celebrated the indictment shortly after it was announced, posting online, “Justice in America!” He described Comey as “one of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to,” and ended his message with his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
The indictment was secured just days before a September 30 deadline, after which potential charges would have been barred by the statute of limitations. Court records released Thursday night also revealed that the same grand jury declined to indict Comey on a separate proposed count of making a false statement to Congress.
That rejected charge related to Comey’s testimony about whether he had reviewed a September 2016 report circulated among senior FBI officials concerning the Clinton campaign’s interest in highlighting Trump’s alleged ties to Russia as a political strategy. Jurors declined to approve that additional count, though prosecutors did not publicly address the setback.
Each of the two felony charges that were approved carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison.
Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the prosecution, saying it demonstrated accountability at the highest levels of government. “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.”
The indictment was signed by Lindsey Halligan, who was sworn in earlier this week as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after being installed by the Trump administration. As of Thursday evening, Halligan was the only prosecutor listed on the court docket. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee, who is scheduled to arraign Comey on October 9.
In a statement, Halligan said the charges reflected a serious breach of public trust. “The charges as alleged in this case represent a breach of the public trust at an extraordinary level,” she said. “The balance of power is a bedrock principle of our democracy, and it depends on accountability and truthful disclosures to Congress. Any effort to evade or obstruct that oversight violates both professional responsibility and the law.”
Comey is being represented by Patrick Fitzgerald, a longtime friend, former U.S. attorney in Chicago, and former special counsel for the Justice Department.
“Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety,” Fitzgerald said. “We look forward to vindicating him in court.”
The indictment has heightened concerns among legal experts and former Justice Department officials that Trump has directly influenced federal prosecutors to pursue criminal cases against political opponents.
For decades, administrations of both parties have sought to insulate prosecutorial decisions from overt political interference, particularly in high-profile cases. Critics say the circumstances surrounding Comey’s indictment mark a sharp departure from that tradition.
The recent push to charge Comey has also sparked turmoil within the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Last week, the district’s top federal prosecutor, Erik Siebert, resigned after reports surfaced that he had questioned the legal basis for pursuing Trump’s political adversaries. The following day, Bondi appointed a local prosecutor active in Republican politics, Mary Cleary, to serve as acting U.S. attorney.
Hours later, Trump publicly criticized Bondi for moving too slowly, naming Comey, Senator Adam Schiff of California, and New York Attorney General Letitia James as targets. He urged Bondi to replace Cleary with Halligan, a former personal lawyer and White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience.
“What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia???” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done. We can’t delay any longer. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Within two days, Halligan was sworn in, and the indictment against Comey soon followed.
Comey delivered his 2020 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee remotely from his home in McLean, Virginia.
The case now moves to federal court, where Comey is expected to challenge the prosecution as selective and politically motivated, setting up a potentially consequential legal battle over the independence of the Justice Department.
