Comey to make first court appearance in Justice Department case accusing
him of lying to Congress
[October 08, 2025]
By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey is set to make
his first court appearance Wednesday in a Justice Department criminal
case accusing him of having lied to Congress five years ago.
The arraignment is expected to be brief, but the moment is nonetheless
loaded with historical significance given that the case has amplified
concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponized in pursuit of
President Donald Trump's political enemies and operating at the behest
of a White House determined to seek retribution.
Comey is expected to plead not guilty at the federal courthouse in
Alexandria, Virginia, kickstarting a process of legal wrangling in which
defense lawyers will almost certainly move to get the indictment
dismissed before trial, possibly by arguing that the case amounts to a
selective or vindictive prosecution.
The indictment two weeks ago followed an extraordinary chain of events
that saw Trump publicly implore Attorney General Pam Bondi to take
action against Comey and other perceived adversaries. The president also
replaced the veteran attorney who had been overseeing the investigation
with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide who had never previously
served as a federal prosecutor. Halligan rushed to file charges before a
legal deadline lapsed despite warnings from other lawyers in the office
that the evidence was insufficient for an indictment.
The two-count indictment alleges that Comey made a false statement to
the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020, by denying he had
authorized an associate to serve as an anonymous source to the news
media, and that he obstructed a congressional proceeding. Comey has
denied any wrongdoing and has said he was looking forward to a trial.
The indictment does not identify the associate or say what information
may have been discussed with the media, making it challenging to assess
the strength of the evidence or to even fully parse the allegations.
Though an indictment is typically just the start of a protracted court
process, the Justice Department has trumpeted the development itself as
something of a win, regardless of the outcome. Trump administration
officials are likely to point to any conviction as proof the case was
well-justified, but an acquittal or even dismissal may also be held up
as further support for their long-running contention that the criminal
justice system is stacked against them.
The judge randomly assigned to the case, Michael Nachmanoff, is a Biden
administration appointee and former chief federal defender. Known for
methodical preparation and a cool temperament, the judge and his
background have already drawn the president's attention, with Trump
deriding him as a “Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge.”
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The Albert Bryan United States Courthouse is photographed Sept. 26,
2025 in Alexandria. Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
The indictment was the latest chapter in a long-broken relationship
between Trump and Comey.
Trump arrived in office in January 2017 as Comey, appointed to the
FBI director job by President Barack Obama four years earlier, was
overseeing an investigation into ties between Russia and Trump's
2016 presidential campaign.
The dynamic was fraught from the start, with Comey briefing Trump
weeks before he took office on the existence of uncorroborated and
sexually salacious gossip in a dossier of opposition research
compiled by a former British spy.
In their first several private interactions, Comey would later
reveal, Trump asked his FBI director to pledge his loyalty to him
and to drop an FBI investigation into his administration’s first
national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump also asked Comey to
publicly reveal that Trump himself was not under investigation as
part of the broader inquiry into Russian election interference,
something Comey opted not to do.
Comey was abruptly fired in May 2017 while at an event in Los
Angeles, with Trump later saying that he was thinking about “this
Russia thing” when he decided to terminate him. The firing was
investigated by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller as
an act of potential obstruction of justice.
Comey in 2018 published a memoir, “A Higher Loyalty,” that painted
Trump in deeply unflattering ways, likening him to a mafia don and
characterizing him as unethical and “untethered to truth.”
Trump, for his part, continued to angrily vent at Comey as the
Russia investigation led by Mueller dominated headlines for the next
two years and shadowed his first administration. On social media, he
repeatedly claimed that Comey should face charges for “treason” — an
accusation Comey dismissed as “dumb lies” — and called him an
“untruthful slime ball.”
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Tucker reported from Washington.
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