Case marks significant step in Trump’s efforts to politicize the justice department and punish political enemies
Case marks significant step in Trump’s efforts to politicize the justice department and punish political enemies
The former FBI director James Comey is set to make his first appearance in court on Wednesday in connection with federal charges that he lied to Congress in 2020.
Comey will 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.
The FBI has reportedly been weighing whether to submit Comey to a “perp walk” in which they would parade him in front of media cameras. An FBI agent was reportedly relieved of duty for refusing to participate in such an effort.
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.
