Tag: 2016 Election

(CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.

Comey, a longtime adversary of the president, is now the first senior government official to face federal charges in one of Trump’s largest grievances: the 2016 investigation into whether his first presidential campaign colluded with Russia.

“JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Comey has been charged with giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, and he could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Both charges are connected to his September 30, 2020, testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A source told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the indictment for lying to Congress is related to the FBI’s “Arctic haze” leak investigation, related to classified information that ended up in four different newspaper articles.

Appearing by Zoom, Comey testified that “he had not authorized someone else to be an anonymous source in news reports,” the indictment said. “That statement was false.”

Comey responded to the indictment in an Instagram video, saying, “Let’s have a trial. And keep the faith.”

“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I’m innocent,” he added.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X, “No one is above the law.”

“Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people,” Bondi wrote. “We will follow the facts in this case.”

Inside the courthouse

The charges were presented by Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney and the new top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia. She was not accompanied by any career prosecutor and is the only Justice Department official who signed the charging documents.

During a brief hearing, a judge announced the new case against Comey and said publicly that 14 jurors agreed to indict on the counts of false statements in the jurisdiction of a congressional proceeding and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

Halligan, who had never presented to a grand jury, did a crash course to prepare with DOJ attorneys and FBI officials ahead of Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Halligan participated in a number of “practice runs” and spent hours going through the material in preparation.

Comey was charged for an alleged false statement he made to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 30, 2020, though he had been asked the same question years earlier under oath.

Prosecutors say Comey authorized a leak to the media about an FBI investigation via an anonymous source, but he then told the Senate he had not.

In his 2020 Senate hearing, appearing by Zoom, Sen. Ted Cruz read to Comey an exchange he had with a different senator, Chuck Grassley, during congressional testimony three years prior.

Cruz said to Comey in 2020:

“On May 3rd, 2017, in this committee, Chairman Grassley asked you point blank, ‘Have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?’ You responded under oath, ‘Never.’ He then asked you, ‘Have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton administration?’ You responded again under oath, ‘No.’”

Comey then said to Cruz: “I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.”

Grand jury rejected third charge against Comey

A court record made public on Thursday certified that the grand jury voted “no” on indicting Comey on another alleged false statement to Congress — a very unusual occurrence in the federal court system.

That other false statement allegation, which is not part of the indictment of Comey, according to this record, appears to pinpoint Comey’s answer when he was asked about an alleged plan from Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign.

“That doesn’t ring any bells with me,” Comey testified in 2020 in response to a question from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

In the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, Graham told Comey about an alleged plan in 2016 where Clinton wanted to distract the public from her use of a private email server and fuel the 2016 Russia investigation around Trump and Russian hackers hurting the US elections.

That question and answer has long fed conservative theories about Comey wanting to hurt Trump and assist Clinton during the campaign and into Trump’s first presidency.

The grand jury did not have a majority of 12 yes votes, out of a possible 23, to indict Comey for that exchange with Graham, according to the court record.

Comey’s son-in-law resigns

Comey’s son-in-law, Troy A. Edwards, Jr., resigned Thursday from his position as a senior national security prosecutor shortly after the former FBI director was indicted, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

In a one-sentence letter to Halligan, Edwards wrote: “To uphold my oath to the Constitution and country, I hereby resign as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in the Department of Justice effective immediately.”

Previous concerns about charges

The indictment Thursday evening comes as CNN previously reported concerns Bondi and prosecutors have had about the case.

Bondi is facing pressure from Trump, who is demanding his political enemies face criminal charges as he once did. But attorneys inside the Eastern District of Virginia recently wrote a memo detailing their reservations over seeking the indictment, ABC News first reported.

Bondi had concerns about the case, which focuses on whether Comey made false statements during congressional testimony involving the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election, according to a person familiar with her thinking, though she believes it would be possible to bring an indictment.

Late Thursday, Bondi replied to CNN’s reporting, stating, “That is a flat out lie.”

The attorney general had dinner at the White House Rose Garden with Trump and others Wednesday evening.

‘I just want people to act’

Publicly and privately, Trump has complained that prosecutors were willing to bring numerous criminal cases against him while he was out of office, noting that in those instances he was charged with whatever they had at the time, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The person added that Trump has repeatedly said that the Justice Department should bring the best case it can when it comes to his political opponents and let the court decide the rest.

“I just want people to act. And we want to act fast,” Trump told reporters Saturday as he departed the White House. “If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty, or if they should be charged, they should be charged, and we have to do it now.”

Some inside the White House view Halligan’s willingness to bring the case as her jumping on a grenade to please Trump – though that is why she was picked to take on the role of leading the Eastern District of Virginia. While several Justice Department officials are worried about the strength of any case against Comey, multiple political aides share a different view: they prosecuted Trump, so people like Comey deserve to be prosecuted, too.

Comey is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 9, according to the court record.

CNN’s Britney Lavecchia, Casey Gannon and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional developments and details of the charges from the Justice Department.

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