Author James Comey, former FBI director, speaks at the Barnes & Noble Upper West Side on May 19, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday on two federal charges, after President Donald Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey, a Trump critic who led an investigation into the president’s first election victory.
A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicted Comey on one charge of making false statements to Congress and another of obstructing a proceeding of Congress. Prosecutors had sought an additional charge of making false statements, but the grand jury returned only one.
“No one is above the law,” Bondi wrote on social media Thursday. “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.”
FBI Director Kash Patel on social media referenced the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won. Comey was FBI director at the outset of that investigation.
“Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability,” Patel wrote. “For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust. …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.”
‘We can’t delay any longer’
The Senate confirmed Comey, 93-1, in 2013. He oversaw the agency’s probe of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election. Trump fired him after pressuring him to end the investigation and failing.
Trump and Comey have publicly sparred since his dismissal. Comey has denied wrongdoing.
Over the weekend, Trump posted on social media urging Bondi to take action against Comey and other political enemies, demanding retribution for his own prosecutions.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done,’” Trump wrote. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! President DJT.”
Trump was impeached twice during his first term and was indicted in four criminal proceedings following his first term.
On Monday, Lindsey Halligan was sworn in as the new interim top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the Comey indictments were returned. Halligan, who was endorsed by Trump for the post, has represented Trump as his personal lawyer.
Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said Halligan’s appointment — after the firing of Erik Siebert, the permanent U.S. attorney in the district, who declined to pursue charges against Comey — showed the prosecution was political.
“I’ve had my differences with James Comey in the past, but I can spot trumped-up charges a mile away,” Kaine wrote in a statement. “Trump said he’d go after him, then fired a superb, ethical prosecutor when he refused to bring frivolous charges against those whom Trump perceived to be his enemies.”
