Inside the Indictment of Former FBI Director James Comey

September 30th, 2025
Christina Yang

Before entering the Oval Office for a second time, Trump vowed that he would spend the next four years focusing on retribution against those whom he believes have wronged him. The latest development in this series of events is the indictment of former FBI director James Comey.

Comey served as the FBI director from 2013 to 2017. He had a long, tumultuous relationship with Trump. He oversaw a high-profile inquiry into Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's emails just weeks before the 2016 election. Ultimately, Trump fired Comey in his first term over Comey’s involvement in investigating his 2016 campaign and its ties to Russia. Since then, Comey has been a vocal critic about Trump’s efforts to politicize the justice system.

The two page indictment is short in detail, but charges Comey with two felony counts: obstruction of the congressional proceeding where he testified in 2020, and making a false statement to Congress during that testimony. These charges stem from a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where Comey asserted that he had not authorized information leaks to the media about an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The indictment does not include any details about how Comey’s testimony could be a lie, as it doesn’t contain any quotes that Comey allegedly said. Nonetheless, Comey has maintained that he is innocent, upholding his testimony from the previous congressional proceeding. If convicted, Comey could face up to five years in prison.

This case faces several legal obstacles on the pathway to Comey’s conviction. For starters, Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s personal lawyer with no experience in criminal prosecution, brought the charges against Comey. In fact, Trump appointed Halligan as the new acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in place of Erik S. Siebert, who was skeptical about bringing charges against Comey. Prosecutors in Halligan’s department were reluctant to charge Comey as they believed probable cause could not be established. As a result, the only signature on Comey’s indictment was Halligan, signifying the potential weakness of this case as it progresses.

Trump’s post-indictment gloating against Comey may also unintentionally weaken the case. One way to get a case dismissed is to argue that it is the product of a “selective or vindictive” prosecution. Trump took to social media to applaud the indictment, and proclaimed “JUSTICE IN AMERICA,” calling Comey a “DIRTY COP” and “ONE OF THE WORST HUMAN BEINGS” in the posts. These arguments can be difficult to win, but legal experts state that the record of Trump’s actions and statements against Comey and his intentional replacement of Siebert with Halligan as acting US attorney could give Comey’s lawyers a strong chance to win on the basis of “selective or vindictive” prosecution.

Comey’s arraignment is set for October 8. Many critics still worry that this case is part of a broader goal to suppress dissent by the Trump Administration. Whether the case actually gets dismissed or not, James Comey’s indictment shatters decades of justice system norms that have kept criminal investigations insulated from political influence.

Extemp Question: How will the indictment of James Comey impact trust in the American justice system?