What we covered here
• Comey indictment: Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, marking an escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.
• The charges: Comey has been charged with giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding during testimony involving the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election.
• Comey response: The former FBI director said in a defiant video response that he is innocent and “not afraid,” adding that his “heart is broken for the Department of Justice.”
Our live coverage of the Trump administration has ended for the day. Follow our continuing coverage or read through the posts below.
Trump says Comey “placed a cloud over the entire nation”
President Donald Trump, in his first interview following the indictment of James Comey, accused the former FBI Director of severely damaging the nation through the agency’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation.
“What they did was so terrible and so corrupt,” Trump told Fox News Digital, calling him “a very corrupt person.”
Trump said Comey “was absolutely a terrible man for what this country stood for,” mirroring his earlier words from the Oval office: “I can only say that Comey is a bad person. He’s a sick person. I think he’s a sick guy, actually, he did terrible things at the FBI.”
Trump also commented on the reported investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan. “It’s up to the Justice Department,” he said when asked if Brennan would face charges as well. “But I can tell you, it is a group of people that was very disappointing,” Trump said.
Comey’s indictment is an escalation in Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.
Trump celebrated on social media, saying: “JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI.”
Trump's handpicked US attorney did “practice runs” to prepare for grand jury, source says
Newly appointed Virginia prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, who had never presented to a grand jury, did a crash course to prepare with Justice Department attorneys and FBI officials ahead of today’s indictment of James Comey, a source told CNN.
The charges against Comey were presented by Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney, whom he installed as the new top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia this week.
Halligan participated in a number of “practice runs” and spent hours going through the material in preparation.
Halligan has only ever appeared officially in federal court on three cases, according to court records. She represented President Donald Trump in all three of the cases in the Southern District of Florida, in 2022 and 2023.
At the time, she was based out of Ft. Lauderdale, according to the federal court record database.
One of the cases was a lawsuit where Trump sued CNN. That suit was later dismissed by a federal judge.
Republicans react to Comey's indictment
Republican lawmakers weighed in on James Comey’s indictment by accusing the former FBI director of wrongdoing and defending President Donald Trump.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida wrote on X: “Anyone complaining that President Trump is ‘weaponizing’ the justice system is a joke.” She went on to call Comey “a criminal who deserves to be held fully accountable under the law.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia claimed on X that Comey “helped carry out the Trump Russia collusion LIE which cost the American people over $32 million dollars and smeared Pres Trump in his first term.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa refrained from attacking Comey, saying in a statement: “If the facts and the evidence support the finding that Comey lied to Congress and obstructed our work, he ought to be held accountable.”
Comey expected to be arraigned on October 9
James Comey is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 9, according to the court record.
The court has issued a summons for Comey to appear at 10 a.m. on October 9.
Two sources told CNN earlier that there was an initial expectation Comey would surrender Friday. But there is no warrant for his arrest, according to the court record, that would require an immediate surrender
Here's what we know about the James Comey indictment
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted today on charges of obstruction of a congressional proceeding and giving false statements.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Who is Comey? President Donald Trump’s former FBI director turned into one of the president’s staunchest critics in recent years. Prior to today’s indictment, Comey was investigated for a social media post that Republicans alleged was a threat against Trump.
- What does the case focus on? The Justice Department looked into whether Comey made false statements during congressional testimony involving the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election.
- Third charge rejected. The grand jury voted “no” on indicting Comey on another alleged false statement to Congress — a very unusual occurrence in the federal court system.
- What is the indictment related to? A source told CNN that the indictment is related to the FBI’s “Arctic haze” leak investigation, which looked into classified information that ended up in four different newspaper articles.
- Comey says he’s “innocent.” The former FBI director’s attorney said Comey denies the charges against him. Comey also posted a video on Instagram, in which he said, “I’m innocent. So, let’s have a trial.”
- Meanwhile, Trump celebrated the indictment. “JUSTICE IN AMERICA!” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that Comey is “One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to.”
Vance says Trump administration is cracking down on "left-wing violence"
Vice President JD Vance sharpened the administration’s message on what it calls “left-wing violence” today, calling for a full-scale dismantling of what he described as an organized domestic threat.
“The president of the United States has made very clear, we’re taking a whole of government approach to this,” he said.
The comments aired just hours after President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum outlining a government-wide strategy to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle all stages of organized political violence and domestic terrorism.”
Critics worry that the move, which comes as administration officials blame the “radical left” for the killing of Charlie Kirk and other recent violence, opens the door to politically motivated prosecutions. The administration, however, maintains it is a necessary step to address rising political violence in the country.
Judge Michael Nachmanoff assigned to case
The federal judge assigned to oversee James Comey’s criminal case in Alexandria, Virginia, is Michael S. Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden.
Nachmanoff was confirmed by the Senate in October 2021 in a 52-46 vote that was mostly on party lines. Three GOP senators, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Maine Sen. Susan Collins and South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, broke with their party to confirm Nachmanoff.
He previously was a magistrate judge appointed by President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2021, and a federal public defender in Virginia for over a decade before then. In 2013, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging lawmakers to roll back funding cuts to federal public defender services.
In a March 2015 interview with a newsletter for a Virginia chapter of the Federal Bar Association, he detailed the qualities he valued most in a judge, such as the “ability to listen, to be well prepared, and to be able to make a prompt decision.” “Ultimately, judging is about fairness and respect – being fair and respectful to the litigants, the lawyers, the public and the court staff,” he added.
Nachmanoff completed his undergraduate studies at Wesleyan University and graduated from University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. He is a musician, and has occasionally performed with his brother, folk singer-songwriter Dave Nachmanoff.
Details of third charge against Comey the grand jury rejected
A court record made public on Thursday certified that the grand jury voted “no” on indicting former FBI Director James Comey on another alleged false statement to Congress — a very unusual occurrence in the federal court system.
That other false statement allegation, which is not part of the indictment of Comey, according to this record, appears to pinpoint Comey’s answer when he was asked about an alleged plan from Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign.
“That doesn’t ring any bells with me,” Comey testified in 2020 in response to a question from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
In the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, Graham told Comey about an alleged plan in 2016 where Hillary Clinton wanted to distract the public from her use of a private email server, and fuel the 2016 Russia investigation around Donald Trump and Russian hackers hurting the US elections.
That question and answer has long fed conservative theories about Comey wanting to hurt Trump and assist Clinton during the campaign and into Trump’s first presidency.
The grand jury did not have a majority of 12 yes votes, out of a possible 23, to indict Comey for that exchange with Graham, according to the court record.
Comey will be allowed to surrender tomorrow, source says
Former FBI Director James Comey is expected to surrender tomorrow morning, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Comey indictment related to “Arctic Haze” leak investigation
An informed source tells CNN that the James Comey indictment for giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding is related to the FBI’s “Arctic haze” leak investigation, related to classified information that ended up in four different newspaper articles.
Those articles are below:
- Ellen Nakashima, “New Details Emerge about 2014 Russian Hack of the State Department: It Was ‘Hand to Hand Combat,’” Washington Post (3 April 2017)
- Matt Apuzzo, Michael S. Schmidt, Adam Goldman, and Eric Lichtblau, “Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. from Politics. Then He Shaped an Election,” New York Times (23 April 2017)
- Karoun Demirjian and Devlin Barrett, “How a Dubious Russian Document Influence the FBI’s Handling of the Clinton Probe,” Washington Post (24 May 2017)
- Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., “The Trump-Russia Story Starts Making Sense,” Wall Street Journal (27 May 2017).
Democratic lawmakers slam Comey’s indictment
Several Democratic lawmakers criticized the Justice Department for indicting former FBI Director James Comey, accusing President Donald Trump of using the Justice Department to go after his political opponents.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the indictment “is a disgraceful attack on the rule of law.” He added in a statement: “Donald Trump and his sycophants in the Department of Justice are completely and totally out of control, and have viciously weaponized the criminal justice system against their perceived adversaries.”
Rep. Daniel Goldman of New York told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that the indictment “taints every single case” that the Justice Department and FBI work on. “The problem is how are you ever going to know whether an investigation by the FBI, an investigation by the Department of Justice, is legitimate or is corrupt,” Goldman said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a ranking Democrat, posted on X that the indictment “is a baseless act of personal vengeance and one more savage assault on justice in America.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota told Cooper that Trump “is going after people that he doesn’t like, or who have said things that he doesn’t like, or who have done things to him in the past. And these, that is why this is so troubling for the justice system.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts took to X to issue a warning: “Using the justice system to go after a political opponent is what dictators do. It’s Comey today, but it could be anyone tomorrow.
Sen. Adam Schiff of California also weighed in on the indictment, calling it “a blatant abuse of the department.” He added: “The DOJ is now little more than an arm of the president’s retribution campaign.”
James Comey’s attorney says former FBI director denies charges
Patrick Fitzgerald, James Comey’s attorney, says the former FBI director denies the charges against him and he will be vindicated.
“Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety. We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom.”
Comey's son-in-law, a federal prosecutor, resigns after indictment
James Comey’s son-in-law, Troy A. Edwards, Jr., resigned today from his position as a senior national security prosecutor shortly after the former FBI director was indicted, according to a letter obtained by CNN.
In a one-sentence letter to US Attorney Lindsey Halligan, Edwards wrote: “To uphold my oath to the Constitution and country, I hereby resign as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in the Department of Justice effective immediately.”
Edwards worked in the same Virginia office that is now prosecuting his father-in-law.
CNN spotted Edwards at the courthouse as reporters waited to see whether the grand jury would hand up an indictment. He spoke to the judge privately in chambers for about 30 minutes.
Read the full James Comey indictment here
The full text of the federal grand jury indictment against former FBI Director James Comey can be found below:
Comey's answers about the leaks to media in 2020 testimony were key to today's indictment
Former FBI Director James Comey was charged for an alleged false statement he made to the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30, 2020, though he had been asked the same question years earlier under oath.
Prosecutors say Comey authorized a leak to the media about an FBI investigation via an anonymous source, but then told the Senate he had not.
In his 2020 Senate hearing, appearing by Zoom, Sen. Ted Cruz read to Comey an exchange he had with a different senator, Chuck Grassley, during congressional testimony three years prior.
Cruz said to Comey in 2020:
“On May 3, 2017, in this committee, Chairman Grassley asked you point blank, ‘Have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?’ You responded under oath, ‘Never.’ He then asked you, ‘Have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton administration?’ You responded again under oath, ‘No.’”
Comey then said to Cruz: “I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.”
The Justice Department said in the indictment that Comey “knew” and “in fact had authorized” an unnamed contact of his “to serve as an anonymous source in news reports regarding an FBI investigation concerning Person 1.”
James Comey responds to his indictment in an Instagram video
Former FBI Director James Comey has responded after a federal grand jury indicted him this evening.
The indictment comes as President Donald Trump advances his efforts to prosecute his political foes.
Comey said he is not afraid.
“Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right. But I’m not afraid. And I hope you’re not either. I hope instead you are engaged, you are paying attention, and you vote like your beloved country depends upon it, which it does,” he said.
He expressed his wish to see a trial.
Trump declares “justice in America” after former FBI director's indictment
President Donald Trump is celebrating after former FBI Director James Comey — a longtime Trump antagonist — was indicted by a federal grand jury.
“JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post a short time ago.
“Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts. He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation,” the president added.
Earlier today, Trump said he thought he’d “be allowed to get involved if I want” in whether his Justice Department should pursue an indictment against the former FBI director, but said he was leaving that determination to DOJ officials.
Some context: Comey’s indictment marks an extraordinary escalation in Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.
He has been charged with giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, according to the Justice Department, in connection with testimony he gave relating to the 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election.
Former Trump White House lawyer says the Comey indictment is "what every law student is told is not possible"
As President Donald Trump’s prosecution against his political enemies unfolds, the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is “what every law student is told is not possible,” Ty Cobb, former Trump White House lawyer, told CNN.
“This is unprecedented. It’s what every law student is told is not possible, and what distinguishes us from dictatorships around the world; that, you know, the the executive branch does not dictate … to prosecutors who will and will not be charged,” Cobbs said.
It may be a wake-up call for Americans, Cobb added.
“I think this is a very, very possible tipping point for Americans to finally acknowledge — the people who have been in constant denial about the damage that Trump is doing and the freedoms that are being eroded — I think this is an opportunity for those people to wake up and take it seriously,” Cobb said.
What it was like inside the courthouse as James Comey was indicted
Magistrate Judge Lindsey Vaala received the indictment returned by the grand jury in a proceeding in the 6 p.m. hour at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.
During that brief hearing, the judge announced the new case against former FBI Director James Comey and said publicly that 14 jurors agreed to indict him on counts of false statements in the jurisdiction of a congressional proceeding and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
The judge said there was a third count presented to the grand jury, which it did not approve for the indictment.
Acting US Attorney Lindsey Halligan spoke with the judge during the court appearance. At least one other prosecutor, Maggie Cleary, the first assistant in the Eastern District of Virginia prosecutors’ office, was also in the courtroom.
Halligan’s team refused to answer reporters’ questions as they left the courtroom.
A male family member of Comey was also at the courthouse, and at one point spoke to the judge privately in chambers for about 30 minutes before the indictment was handed up to the judge.
