He says he never lied and that's the honest truth, dangnabbit!
Comey pleaded not guilty to two federal charges on Wednesday during a short hearing in a courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia.
The charges are related to his testimony in front of Congress in 2020. Testifying before Congress has the same legal weight as testifying in a courtroom: If you lie while under oath, it carries severe potential penalties.
A handful of protesters, mostly older white liberals, came out in support of Comey.
The U.S. government accuses Comey of the following:
On or about September 30, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia, the defendant, JAMES B. COMEY JR., did willfully and knowingly make a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the Government of the United States, by falsely stating to a U.S. Senator during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that he, JAMES B. COMEY JR., had not 'authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports' regarding an FBI investigation concerning PERSON 1.
The government says he had authorized a third person to "serve as an anonymous source in news reports regarding an FBI investigation concerning PERSON 1."
In May 2017, Comey was asked about being an "anonymous source" or designating someone else to be an anonymous source on his behalf to leak details about the FBI's investigation into allegations of collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
In September 2020, Sen. Ted Cruz grilled him about his 2017 statement and asked him if he would like to correct the record. Comey doubled down, saying, "I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017."
Prosecutors allege that Comey had, indeed, appointed someone (likely former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe) to leak sensitive information to the media.
McCabe denies any involvement.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a July 2025 release that Comey, along with former CIA Director John Brennan and other top Obama officials, used the fake "Steele Dossier" as a means to undermine the incoming Trump administration.
A CIA report released this summer showed that the Obama admin was aware that the claims of Russian collusion were false before the election, yet Obama officials went forward with investigating Trump anyway. CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were heavily involved in this assessment, a move the CIA called "highly unusual."
In July, President Trump called for former President Barack Obama to be investigated over the matter, calling his actions "treason."
Comey's trial date has been set for January 5, 2026.
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