Comey Pleads Not Guilty in Trump’s Political Prosecution 

Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two felony charges stemming from a politically driven indictment brought by one of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorneys amid Trump’s public pressure campaign on the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The Eastern District of Virginia last month charged Comey with lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. That came shortly after Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after Comey and his other perceived enemies more aggressively.

In a federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, the former FBI chief Wednesday entered a plea of not guilty to both accusations. U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, appointed by former President Joe Biden, set a sooner-than-expected trial date for Jan. 5, 2026.

The indictment marked the most dangerous escalation yet of Trump’s retribution campaign and his efforts to wield the DOJ against his perceived political enemies. If convicted, Comey could face a maximum of five years in prison.

The Eastern District of Virginia sought the indictment after Trump forced Erik Siebert, the former U.S. attorney of that district, out of his post for raising concerns about the district’s case against Comey and other Trump enemies.

In Siebert’s place, Trump installed Lindsey Halligan, one of his former personal defense attorneys who had no prosecutorial experience. Halligan personally brought the Comey indictment before a grand jury two days after being sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

In light of Trump’s public pressure on Bondi and the district’s rapid change in leadership, the indictment conflicted with the DOJ’s longstanding principle of independence from the White House. The norm, which arose after the Watergate scandal, is codified in the DOJ’s internal rulebook and is meant to protect the rule of law and shield the department from political bias.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Comey’s defense attorneys said that, through pre-trial motions later this month, they will ask Nachmanoff to dismiss the charges based on selective and vindictive prosecution. They said they also will challenge the legality of Halligan’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney.

The two-page indictment against Comey was sparse on details. It accused the former FBI chief of making false statements to a senator during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in September 2020. Because of the alleged statement, it also accused Comey of obstructing a congressional investigation into the FBI’s Russia investigation. The document, however, did not specify what the alleged false statement was.

During that hearing, Comey defended the FBI’s Russia election interference investigation and told Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that he hadn’t leaked information to the media and did not authorize anyone else in the FBI to do so.

Legal experts noted it was unusual for Halligan to bring an indictment by herself, especially one as high-profile and politically charged as the one against Comey — one of Trump’s longtime adversaries. Normally, assistant U.S. attorneys present cases before grand juries and sign off on indictments.

Halligan decided to go forward with the indictment over the objections of career prosecutors. The move roiled the Eastern District of Virginia, one of the most important U.S. attorney’s offices in the country due to its national security caseload. In its aftermath, several senior officials resigned or were fired, including Comey’s son-in-law.

Potentially due to the turmoil in the Virginia office, the DOJ brought in two assistant U.S. attorneys from North Carolina to help Halligan on the Comey prosecution.

Federal prosecutors who at one point handled the Comey investigation concluded that testimony from a central witness in the probe would likely undermine the case before a jury, sources familiar with the probe told ABC News.

DOJ officials have privately expressed that due to the witness’s testimony the case could unravel under the scrutiny of a federal judge and defense lawyers, according to ABC news.

Trump, who shattered political norms by firing Comey in 2017, has for years vowed to get retribution on the former FBI director over the bureau’s investigation into links between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

The president cheered the indictment, claiming that justice had been served, even though Comey remained innocent until proven guilty.

In the Oval Office Monday, Trump claimed he had nothing to do with Comey being indicted but said he was “allowed” to order Bondi to pursue specific investigations or charges “if I wanted to do that.”

Though he washed his hands of Comey being charged on his orders, Trump deemed the former FBI director guilty. He claimed Comey is “crooked,” a “dirty cop” and a “dishonest guy” who “got caught.”

“Look, he lied,” Trump said. “This is just a simple case. He totally lied. And then he confirmed the lie on, I guess, numerous occasions, or at least one occasion.”

In addition to its Comey probe, the Eastern District of Virginia is investigating mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who won a multi-million dollar judgment against the Trump Organization and has challenged several aspects of his political agenda.

James was accused of committing mortgage fraud over the purchase of a home in Virginia in 2023 based on preliminary loan documents obtained by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and one of Trump’s favored political attack dogs.

Elizabeth Yusi, who oversees major criminal prosecutions in the Eastern District of Virginia, recently told colleagues that in the coming weeks she intends to tell Halligan that she does not have probable cause to believe James engaged in mortgage fraud, MSNBC reported.

Officials in the Eastern District of Virginia were preparing for Yusi to be dismissed or forced to resign over her resistance to try a case against James.

Before he was forced out, Siebert also pushed back against charging James after investigators failed to gather evidence strong enough to secure a conviction if the case went to trial.

Despite Siebert’s warnings, however, Pulte and other officials have still pushed for James to be indicted.