James Comey indicted over testimony at 2020 Senate hearing

A federal grand jury indicted former FBI Director James B. Comey on Thursday on charges he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional proceeding, days after President Donald Trump demanded that the Department of Justice prosecute his longtime foe.

- Ryan Tarinelli and Michael Macagnone, Tribune News Service

James Comey

The charges follow a public campaign by the president for the indictment of Comey and other perceived political enemies, and they come after Trump forced out the US attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia and appointed an ally of his to the spot. The indictment, filed in that district, focuses on Comey's testimony at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 30, 2020, and states he lied when he said he “had not 'authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports' regarding an FBI investigation.”

In the first count, Comey is accused of violating the Section IOOI of Title 18, a rarely used law that has ensnared other high-profile figures, including television personality Martha Stewart and political figures such as former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer. In the second count, Comey is accused of violating Section 1505 of Title 18 by obstructing “the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which an investigation was being had before the Senate Judiciary Committee.” Both charges carry a maximum five years in prison, but no minimum sentence. An arraignment was set for Oct. 9 before Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff of the Eastern District of Virginia. The Justice Department in a press release announced the “serious crimes related to the disclosure of sensitive information.”