On September 30, 2025, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two felony counts: lying to Congress and obstruction of justice. The charges, filed just days before the statute of limitations was set to expire, have set off a political firestorm and raised urgent questions about the independence of the U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump. The indictment alleges that Comey made false statements when he denied authorizing anyone at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports concerning investigations into Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both counts appear to stem from the same alleged conduct: Comey’s denial of leaks to the press.
The road to Comey’s indictment was paved with years of acrimony between him and Trump. According to Common Dreams, the tension began in January 2017, when Trump held a private dinner with Comey at the White House. During that meeting, Trump twice told Comey, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.” Comey replied, “You will always get honesty from me,” to which Trump responded, “That’s what I want. Honest loyalty.” The relationship soured further when, in February 2017, Trump asked Comey to “let go” of the investigation into former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. Comey did not acquiesce. Over the next several months, Trump repeatedly pressured Comey to “lift the cloud” of the Russia investigation and publicly state that Trump was not personally under investigation.
The breaking point came in May 2017, after Comey refused to answer Senate questions about whether Trump was under investigation, saying, “It makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election.” On May 9, 2017, Trump fired Comey. The firing prompted Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller’s investigation resulted in 37 indictments and seven guilty pleas or convictions. More than 1,000 former federal prosecutors later signed a statement asserting that Trump’s actions would have resulted in multiple obstruction of justice charges for any other American.
Despite these developments, Trump continued to publicly attack Comey, branding him “Jim ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey” and calling for his prosecution. Department of Justice guidelines, however, require that charging decisions be based on evidence, not political animosity. As one guideline states, “There is no place in the decision-making process for animosity or careerism.”
Fast forward to January 2025: Trump appointed Erik Siebert, a career prosecutor, as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. As the statute of limitations on potential charges against Comey approached, Siebert reportedly expressed serious doubts about the strength of the case. According to Common Dreams, Siebert’s concerns quickly reached the upper echelons of the Justice Department. On September 19, 2025, Trump told reporters he wanted Siebert “out” for not prosecuting New York Attorney General Letitia James, another Trump adversary. That same day, Siebert resigned.
The following evening, Trump claimed he had fired Siebert and pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey, James, and Representative Adam Schiff. In a post, Trump wrote, “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!!!” He then announced Lindsey Halligan, a 36-year-old former insurance lawyer and Trump loyalist with no criminal prosecution experience, as Siebert’s replacement. Halligan was sworn in as acting U.S. attorney on September 22, 2025.
Just three days later, Halligan personally presented evidence to a grand jury, resulting in Comey’s indictment. The document was sparse—just one and a half pages—and signed only by Halligan. Count one accused Comey of lying to the Senate about authorizing leaks; count two charged him with obstructing Congress, though specifics were lacking. Common Dreams reported that career attorneys had prepared a memo warning there was insufficient evidence to establish probable cause, let alone guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on conflicting testimony from Comey’s former deputy, Andrew McCabe. Notably, the Justice Department’s own inspector general had concluded in 2018 that Comey did not authorize the leak, and the grand jury refused to return a proposed third charge.
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement: “No one is above the law. 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.” FBI Director Kash Patel echoed the sentiment, posting, “Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability. For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust. Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account—no matter their perch.”
Yet the legitimacy of the case has been called into question. Common Dreams and other outlets noted that the indictment came just a week after Trump publicly demanded Bondi charge Comey and other perceived enemies, calling them “guilty as hell.” The timing—so close to the statute of limitations deadline—has fueled suspicions that the prosecution was driven by retribution rather than justice. “The problem is how are you ever going to know whether an investigation by the FBI, an investigation by the Department of Justice, is legitimate or is corrupt,” said New York Democratic Representative Dan Goldman.
Trump, meanwhile, celebrated the indictment as a personal victory. In a series of posts, he declared, “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. 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!” He went on to thank the FBI and DOJ officials involved in the case, singling out Halligan for praise.
Comey, for his part, has maintained his innocence and confidence in the judicial system. In a video statement, he said, “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.”
The spectacle has drawn comparisons to the political tactics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, according to former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, “doesn’t try to convince the Russian people that he is honest. Instead, he works to persuade them that everyone else is corrupt.” The implication is that by undermining public trust in the justice system, Trump may be seeking to insulate himself from accountability for his own legal troubles.
Indeed, Trump’s own legal history is lengthy and contentious. In May 2024, a jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 election. He has also been found liable for defamation and fraud, and faces two separate federal indictments: one for the unlawful retention of sensitive government documents, and another for conspiracy to defraud the United States over the 2020 election.
As the Comey case proceeds, the nation is left grappling with fundamental questions about the rule of law, the independence of federal prosecutors, and the future of American democracy. The outcome may determine not just Comey’s fate, but the credibility of the entire justice system.
