Ex-FBI chief Comey pleads not guilty to federal charges

James Comey is accused by the Trump administration of lying to Congress and obstruction during testimony in 2020

- ALEX WOODWARD

The former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty yesterday to lying to Congress in a case Donald Trump demanded the Department of Justice seek, regardless of evidence against his longtime foe.

Mr Comey made his first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, yesterday to face charges stemming from his testimony to the Senate judiciary committee in 2020, when he denied authorising leaks to reporters.

A trial date is tentatively scheduled to begin on 5 January 2026, but Mr Comey's attorneys are expected to try to have the case thrown out altogether, citing President Trump's “vindictive” prosecution and the president's installation of his personal attorney to bring the case against him.

Mr Comey's attorneys are preparing a motion to disqualify Virginia US attorney Lindsey Halligan, and his defence counsel Patrick Fitzgerald said his legal team will also accuse the government of abusing the grand jury process and “outrageous” conduct.

To find him guilty of making false statements to Congress, a jury would have to agree that they believe he knowingly and wilfully deceived senators about an issue material to a question at the centre of that 2020 Senate hearing.

The hearing focused on the FBI's role in the Trump-Russia investigation, although the allegation that Mr Comey made false statements to the committee involves a separate investigation into Hillary Clinton's foundation in 2016.

Two months into Mr Trump’s first term, Mr Comey announced the FBI was investigating Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, and sought to determine if there were “any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government,” Mr Comey testified at the time.