Former FBI Director James B. Comey on Wednesday stood before a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, and pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional investigation.
U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff set a trial date of Jan. 6. Both Mr. Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, and prosecutor Nathaniel Lemmons anticipated the trial would take about three days.
He is accused of perjury and obstruction based on testimony he gave in the Senate five years ago.
In the courtroom, Mr. Fitzgerald approached the judge and said it was the honor of his life to represent Mr. Comey.
“My client enters a plea of not guilty and my client looks forward to a jury trial,” he said.
Mr. Fitzgerald said the defense planned to file an “outrageous government conduct” motion to have the charges dismissed. He argued the charges were brought unfairly and directly by President Trump, a political foe.
They will also seek to dismiss the case on the grounds that Ms. Halligan’s appointment was unlawful. That legal challenge would be heard by a different judge.
Mr. Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted on the two counts.
Mr. Fitzgerald said the defense is in the dark about two unidentified people listed in the Sept. 26 indictment and is not certain what alleged actions by Mr. Comey led to the two-count indictment.
Mr. Comey arrived Wednesday at the courthouse in the D.C. suburbs through a back entrance with Mr. Fitzgerald, his son and his daughter, Maurene Comey, a former top Justice Department lawyer recently fired by the Trump administration. A crowd of protesters stood out front with signs accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing the government.
Mr. Comey has denied the charges and said he believes he is the victim of a political prosecution.
“I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I’m innocent,” Mr. Comey said in a video posted on social media last month. “So let’s have a trial. And keep the faith.”
No cameras are allowed in the courtroom.
After his arraignment, Mr. Comey likely will be formally booked, which will require federal marshals to take a mugshot and fingerprints.
The charges against Mr. Comey stem from his September 2020 congressional testimony, at which he told lawmakers under oath that he did not authorize leaks to the media.
The case will be prosecuted by newly appointed acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan. She replaced Erik Seibert, who was pushed out after declining to seek an indictment against Mr. Comey.
It’s not clear what information Mr. Comey stands accused of leaking. Some reports suggest it involved the FBI’s probe into the missing government emails from a server owned by then-presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Critics accuse the Trump administration of using the Justice Department to punish political foes. Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey from his leadership post at the FBI, and it was later learned that Mr. Comey launched a secret spy operation of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign based on a fake dossier of wild allegations paid for by Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Mr. Comey is largely blamed for launching the broad probe alleging Mr. Trump colluded with Russia to win the White House. The flawed investigation, which turned up no evidence of collusion, significantly hobbled Mr. Trump’s first term.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.