A federal grand jury indicted former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday, approving charges for a top foe of the White House just days after President Trump called for his prosecution.
Comey was indicted on charges of making a false statement as well as another for obstruction in connection with testimony he gave before Congress in 2020.
The indictment makes Comey the first of Trump’s many perceived political enemies to face charges.
“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. We will follow the facts in this case,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X in a post that did not name Comey but appeared to reference the charges.
An attorney for Comey did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Trump took to his social media platform over the weekend to issue a direct call to Bondi for an indictment of Comey, alongside other perceived political enemies of the president.
The call came after Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, stepped down rather than bring charges against another Trump adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James, reportedly finding there was not enough evidence in the case to support allegations of mortgage fraud.
Siebert was also overseeing the Comey case, which was then also handed over to Lindsey Halligan, who was tapped as an interim replacement. Halligan, a White House staffer who practiced insurance law before she joined Trump’s criminal defense team in 2022, has never tried a federal case.
Trump has long called for charges against Comey, whom he blames for the investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia in the 2016 contest — something he has deemed a “witch hunt.”
The focus on Comey stems from his congressional testimony on Sept. 30, 2020, with the charges coming just days ahead of the five-year statute of limitations on such matters.
During that hearing, Comey was asked about whether he ever authorized leaks about the investigation into Trump — something the director denied.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who worked on a review of the 2016 investigation as a staffer on the House Intelligence Committee, said Comey’s conduct reflected “previous corrupt leadership and their enablers [who] weaponized federal law enforcement.”
“Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose,” he wrote in a post on X that likewise did not name Comey.
“Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch.”
While he initially retained Comey as FBI director, Trump later removed him from his post in 2019.
Comey has since been a Trump critic; he posted a photo in May with seashells on the beach spelling out “8647.” That too sparked an investigation into Comey, with the Trump administration arguing it was a threat against the president. Stemming from the hospitality industry, “86” can refer to either the need to cut off a client or unlist a menu item.
Beyond the actions against Comey, the Justice Department also fired his daughter, Maurene Comey, a highly respected prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. The younger Comey has since sued, alleging her firing was in part carried out due to her connection to her father.
The Associated Press contributed.
Updated at 7:14 p.m. EDT
