The former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday in connection with federal charges that he lied to Congress in 2020.
Comey entered the federal courthouse shortly before 10am through a private entrance. He was joined in court by his legal team, as well as his wife and daughter, Maurene, who was fired last month as a federal prosecutor in the southern district of New York. Troy Edwards Jr, Comey’s son-in-law who resigned as a prosecutor in the eastern district of Virginia immediately after Comey was indicted, was also seen at the courthouse.
Asked whether he understood the charges against him, Comey said: “I do your honor. Thank you very much,” according to CBS News.
A trial in the case was tentatively set for 5 January 2026, according to the Associated Press.
Comey was to be booked and fingerprinted, which is normal practice for defendants, at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, before being arraigned and formally read the charges against him by US district judge Michael Nachmanoff. Nachmanoff was appointed to the federal bench by Joe Biden in 2021.
Patrick Fitzgerald, a former US attorney for the northern district of Illinois representing Comey, told Nachmanoff that Comey’s legal team planned to file a motion to dismiss the case and argue that the former FBI director was the subject of a malicious and selective prosecution. Such a motion was widely expected given that Trump publicly called for the justice department to prosecute Comey and fired a top prosecutor who refused to do so.
Fitzgerald also said he planned to challenge the legality of Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. Some legal observers have questioned whether Halligan was legally appointed. Federal law authorizes the appointment of an interim US attorney for 120 days and then authorizes the district court to appoint an interim prosecutor if one has not been confirmed. Halligan’s predecessor, Erik Siebert, served 120 days in the role, and then had his tenure extended. Halligan, the theory goes, cannot be appointed by the justice department for another 120-day interim period since Siebert has already served that time.
The brief indictment handed down by a federal grand jury on 25 September accused Comey of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional investigation in connection with his September 2020 testimony to Congress. While the details of the charge remain unclear, they appear to be related to his claim that he never authorized anyone in the FBI to be an anonymous source in news stories. “I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial. And keep the faith,” Comey said in a video statement the night the charges were filed.
Fitzgerald told Nachmanoff, who is overseeing the case, that Comey’s lawyers had only had their first substantive contact with prosecutors on Tuesday, according to the New York Times. Fitzgerald told Nachmanoff Comey’s legal team had not been told the details of Comey’s false statements or who the anonymous people referenced in the indictment are.
Prosecutors had requested pushing out the trial date, arguing the case was complex and required sorting through classified materials, according to the New York Times. Nachmanoff expressed skepticism that the case was complicated. “This does not appear to me to be an overly complicated case,” he said, according to the Times. “I’m not going to force you to go to trial in December if both sides don’t feel they can be ready.”
The case against Comey marks a significant step in Donald Trump’s effort to politicize the justice department and punish his political enemies. Even though the attorney general and top justice department officials are political appointees, the department has typically operated at arm’s length from the White House in order to preserve independent decision-making necessary to uphold the rule of law. Trump has upended that norm and has said more charges are coming.
Trump fired Comey in 2017 and has fumed at the former FBI director for years for his role in investigating connections between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Comey’s firing eventually prompted the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to take over the investigation. Mueller’s final report detailed numerous instances in which Trump attempted to influence the investigation.
Trump forced out Siebert, the top federal prosecutor in the eastern district of Virginia, after Siebert determined there wasn’t sufficient evidence to bring charges against Letitia James, New York’s attorney general. At Trump’s request, the justice department replaced him with Halligan, a White House aide who was part of Trump’s personal legal team and has no prosecutorial experience.
Career prosecutors in the eastern district of Virginia reportedly presented Halligan with a memo outlining why charges against Comey were not warranted. In an unusual move, Halligan presented the case herself to a federal grand jury, which handed down the indictment just a few days after she started on the job.
No career prosecutors from the eastern district of Virginia have entered an appearance in the case. Instead, two prosecutors from the eastern district of North Carolina, Nathaniel Lemons and Gabriel Diaz, will join Halligan in handling the case.
Two other prosecutors in the eastern district of Virginia have been fired since the charges against Comey were filed. The prosecutors, Maya Song, a top Siebert deputy, and Michael Ben’Ary, a top national security prosecutor, both at one point had worked under Lisa Monaco, a top official in the justice department under the Biden administration.
Trump has also put pressure on the office to file charges against James over specious allegations that the New York attorney general committed mortgage fraud.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump told Bondi in a brazen 20 September post on Truth Social, asking her to bring charges against Comey, James, and California senator Adam Schiff. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Elizabeth Yusi, a top prosecutor in the office, plans to present the case to Halligan soon that there is no probable cause to file charges against James. Colleagues expect Yusi to be fired.
