The Justice Department Thursday charged former FBI Director James Comey with perjury and obstruction of Congress.
“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “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.”
“Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust.”
“Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on,” he added. “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. Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account—no matter their perch. No one is above the law.”
The DOJ alleges Comey lied in testimony to Congress, a charge that carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
He faces charges of a false statement and obstruction of a congressional investigation.
The DOJ’s complaint concerns testimony Comey delivered in September 2020 on his handling of the investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
In that testimony, Comey asserted that he had not authorized the leak of information on the investigation to the media.
Comey headed up the Russia investigation briefly during his tenure as FBI director before President Donald Trump fired him in May 2017.
The charges against Comey come just days before the five-year statute of limitations for perjury was set to take effect on Sept. 30.
Comey’s case will be heard in the Eastern District of Virginia. That office is headed by U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide who was appointed recently following the resignation of Erik Siebert, the previous attorney for the district.
