The allegation against former FBI Director James Comey, that he leaked sensitive information to the media, may ironically not have been related to an investigation into Donald Trump, according to a new report.
Comey, who the president fired in 2017, is accused in a federal indictment of authorizing an anonymous leak about an ongoing federal investigation and making false statements and obstructing justice during congressional testimony in September 2020.
During questioning in the Senate at the time, Comey defended the truthfulness of prior testimony where he said he did not authorize FBI investigations into Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be leaked to the press.
But the indictment, made public Thursday, does not identify which specific leaked details or news reports are at the heart of the case.
In 2016 the FBI was investigating one matter concerning Hillary Clinton and the potential sharing or improper storage of classified information on a private email server, and a separate investigation of Donald Trump and potential Russian election interference.
Officials involved in the case told CNN that the false statement charge appears to center on leaks to the media about the investigation into Clinton’s emails.
Trump has vowed that Comey is only the first of his political adversaries to be charged, long-since accusing him of damaging his first term in office by leaking information to the press against him.
The president celebrated the charges in a Truth Social post, calling Comey “one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to.”
It would be ironic if the accusations do refer to leaks in the Clinton case, as the former Secretary of State has also accused Comey of damaging her own campaign and helping Trump secure the White House for the first time in 2016.
In Comey’s indictment, he is accused of lying when he claimed he “had not ‘authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports’ regarding an FBI investigation concerning Person 1.”
“Person 1” refers to Clinton, officials and people briefed on the case told CNN.
The indictment notes that a grand jury didn’t concur on an additional charge prosecutors originally sought, in which “Person 1” is referenced again regarding the “approval of a plan concerning Person 2” – which is Trump, officials told the outlet.
More details about the leak are expected to come out at trial.
If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison. He’s denied any wrongdoing.
“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,” the former FBI director said after the indictment was made public.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial,” he added.
