Federal prosecutors in Virginia have charged former FBI Director James Comey with obstruction of justice and making false statements, according to a person familiar with the development who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
The charges come just days after President Donald Trump publicly implored his Justice Department to quickly seek indictments of his perceived foes and ousted a U.S. attorney who resisted.
A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicted Comey on Thursday on charges believed to stem from Comey’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020 about the FBI’s investigation into links between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Prosecutors sought the indictment just before a Sept. 30 legal deadline that would have put criminal charges out of reach because the statute of limitations would have expired.
“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X shortly after word of the charges against Comey emerged. “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.”
