Oct. 8 (UPI) — Former FBI Director James Comey will be arraigned Wednesday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., in a case pushed to prosecution by President Donald Trump.
Comey was indicted on one count each of making a false statement and obstruction, from his testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020.
The arraignment will be at 10 a.m. EDT before U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff. Comey is represented by former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. No electronics are allowed in the courthouse.
The hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, but it was changed to Wednesday because other high-profile cases were happening in the same courthouse.
Trump has criticized Nachmanoff on Truth Social, calling him a “a crooked Joe Biden-appointed Judge.”
It was reported that the administration wanted Comey to participate in a “perp walk” before the arraignment, but some FBI supervisors argued against it, and one of them was suspended for it.
Trump pressured the Department of Justice to prosecute Comey, posting on Truth Social, “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!!”
The president accused former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert of delaying action on the case to allow the statute of limitations to expire. Siebert resigned under pressure from the administration.
Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed interim U.S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia Lindsey Halligan, a former insurance attorney, to prosecute the case.
