Comey Responds to Indictment: 'I'm Innocent'

In a video posted following his two-count indictment by a federal grand jury, former FBI Director James Comey says he is innocent.

"My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let's have a trial, and keep the faith," Comey said in the brief video posted to his Instagram account.

"My family and I have known for years that there are costs for standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees and you shouldn't either," Comey said in the video.

"Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant and she is right," Comey said, referring to a statement his daughter, Maurene Comey, made in a farewell email to her colleagues after being fired from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York this summer. "But I am not afraid, and I hope you are not either. I hope instead you are engaged, you are paying attention and you will vote like your beloved country depends upon it, which it does."

Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice — and President Trump applauded that “justice in America” is being served nearly a decade after Russiagate.

Comey, 64, is the highest-ranking former federal official to face charges in connection with the long-running FBI investigation into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russian officials.

The former top lawman faces up to five years in prison if convicted of both counts. He is expected to turn himself in Friday, according to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

The case has been assigned to District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, who is slated to arraign Comey on Oct. 9 at a federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va.

Comey has retained former federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to represent him in the case.

“JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI,” President Trump said on Truth Social.

“Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts. He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The indictment was handed up days before the expiration of the five-year statute of limitations to charge Comey in connection with his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on X. “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.”

“The charges as alleged in this case represent a breach of the public trust at an extraordinary level,” added Lindsey Halligan, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

“The balance of power is a bedrock principal [sic] of our democracy, and it relies upon accountability and a forthright presentation of facts from executive leadership to congressional oversight. Any intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance is a violation of professional responsibility and, most importantly, the law.”

The two-page indictment hinges on an exchange Comey had with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during the Sept. 30, 2020, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, during which the former FBI director denied authorizing leaks to media outlets related to the Trump investigation and a separate probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server to store sensitive emails.

“On May 3rd, 2017, in this committee, Chairman [Chuck] Grassley asked you point blank, ‘Have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?’ You responded under oath, ‘Never,’” the line of questioning from Cruz began.

“He then asked you, ‘Have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton administration?’ You responded again under oath, ‘No.’”

The Texas Republican then noted that Comey’s responses to Grassley appeared to be at odds with comments made by former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whom Cruz said, “publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to the Wall Street Journal and that you were directly aware of it and that you directly authorized it.”

“Who’s telling the truth?” Cruz asked.

To which Comey responded, “I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.”

“I’m not going to characterize Andy’s testimony, but mine is the same today,” he added, when pressed again by the Texas Republican.

The indictment states: “That statement was false, because, as JAMES B. COMEY JR. then and there knew, he in fact had authorized PERSON 3 to serve as an anonymous source in news reports regarding an FBI investigation concerning PERSON 1.”

By making the false statement, Comey attempted to “corruptly endeavor to influence, obstruct and impede” the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to prosecutors, resulting in the obstruction of a congressional proceeding charge.

Comey has confessed to leaking material to the media in the past.

In 2017, he told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he asked “a good friend,” Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor who had worked with him in the Southern District of New York, to leak memos on his behalf about Trump’s alleged instructions that a probe into Michael Flynn be dropped.

Richman’s name also came up, in relation to Clinton probe leaks, in a subsequent FBI investigation, dubbed “Arctic Haze,” that was recently made public by FBI Director Kash Patel.

In 2018, a DOJ inspector general investigation into the Wall Street Journal leaks noted that McCabe told investigators that Comey “agreed it was a ‘good’ idea” to disclose information related to the Clinton email scandal.

The DOJ IG report, however, notes that “Comey and McCabe gave starkly conflicting accounts” of what transpired, with the former FBI director maintaining that he did not authorize the disclosures.

Comey said his “heart is broken” for the DOJ after his indictment.

“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” he said in a video posted on Substack soon after. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either.

“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith,” he added.

The grand jury did not indict Comey on a second false statements charge, in which prosecutors accused the former FBI chief of “falsely stating to a U.S. Senator during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that he … did not remember ‘being taught’ of PERSON I’s ‘approval of a plan concerning’ PERSON 2 and the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.”