A twisting path led to indictment of ex-FBI chief

Statement against Comey is only two pages and alleges he gave false testimony.

- BY BYRON TAU

KEN CEDENO Pool Photo

FORMER FBI Director James Comey is sworn in via teleconference before testifying at a hearing in 2020.

The indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is only two pages and alleges he falsely testified to Congress in 2020 about authorizing someone to be an anonymous source in news stories.

That brevity belies a convoluted and contentious backstory. The events at the heart of the disputed testimony are among the most heavily scrutinized in the bureau's history, generating internal and congressional investigations that have produced thousands of pages of records and transcripts.

Those investigations were focused on how Comey and his agents conducted high-stakes inquiries into whether Russia had unlawfully colluded with Republican Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email server while she was secretary of State.

Here are some things to know about that period and how they fit into Comey's indictment:

What are the allegations?

The indictment alleges that Comey made a false statement in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The single quote from the indictment appears to be from an interaction with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Prosecutors contend that Comey lied when he denied having authorized anyone at the FBI to be an anonymous source to the media, alleging he had done so by telling someone identified as "Person 3" in the indictment to speak to reporters.

"It's such a bare-bones indictment," said Solomon Wisenberg, a former federal prosecutor and now a defense attorney in private practice. "We do not know what the evidence is going to be" at trial, he said.

What did Comey say to Congress?