What happened
The Justice Department Thursday secured a two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, days after President Donald Trump publicly told Attorney General Pam Bondi he wanted Comey and other perceived enemies prosecuted.
Trump separately signed a memo Thursday ordering the FBI to lead a multiagency effort to “identify and disrupt financial networks that fund domestic terrorism and political violence,” though the order and Trump’s subsequent comments in the Oval Office made clear he was focused only on left-leaning organizations. He offered top Democratic donors George Soros and Reid Hoffman as potential targets.
Who said what
A federal grand jury in Virginia approved counts against Comey of making false statements and obstruction of Congress, but rejected a third charge. The charges, related to statements Comey made in a 2020 Senate hearing, “represent a breach of the public trust at an extraordinary level,” said newly appointed U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a former defense lawyer for Trump with no prosecutorial experience. “JUSTICE IN AMERICA!” Trump said on social media.
In an unusual move, Halligan “presented the case herself and was the only prosecutor to sign the indictment,” The Wall Street Journal said. Her Trump-appointed predecessor and career prosecutors in her office opposed bringing charges, citing insufficient evidence.
The Comey indictment “marks the most significant step to date in Trump’s campaign to deploy the Justice Department to avenge personal grievances and prosecute those he perceives as his enemies,” The Washington Post said. It could “well go down as a moment,” The New York Times said, “when a fundamental democratic norm — that justice is dispensed without regard to political or personal agendas — was cast aside in a dangerous way.”
What next?
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system,” Comey said in a video statement Thursday night. “And I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial.” His lawyer, former federal prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald, said Comey denies the charges “in their entirety” and “we look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom.” His arraignment is set for Oct. 9. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years.
The president is using the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies