Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey leaves the Rayburn House Office Building after testifying to two House committees on Dec. 7, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
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The Justice Department has leveled charges against former FBI Director James Comey, after President Trump demanded prosecutors speed up their pace in an investigation targeting one of his most prominent critics.
Comey faces one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice in connection with his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee nearly five years ago. The move comes days after the top federal prosecutor in Northern Virginia cast doubt on the evidence, only to be forced out by the president and replaced with one of Trump’s former defense attorneys.
“No one is above the law.,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post 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.”
Trump has long railed against Comey, blaming the former FBI leader for the appointment of a special prosecutor who probed contacts between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign through most of the president’s first term in office.
The charges against Comey mark the latest escalation in a years-long war of words between Trump and Comey, who famously likened the president to a mob boss.
This year the Secret Service interrogated the former FBI director after he posted a photo of seashells in the shape of the numbers “86 47.” Comey later removed the post, saying he thought it was a restaurant-themed joke about removing Trump, the 47th president. But Trump’s son and cabinet members interpreted the message as an assassination threat.
Comey once served as second in command at the Justice Department, under President George W. Bush. But he started his career as a federal prosecutor, working to some acclaim in the same office in Virginia that later moved to seek his indictment.
DOJ fired his daughter, Maurene Comey, from a prominent job as an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan earlier this year, only hours after she said she had been asked to lead an important public corruption case.
This month, Maurene Comey sued current Justice Department leaders, arguing she was fired without cause and in violation of the Constitution and federal statutes. Her lawsuit said she thinks she was dismissed because of “her father’s protected speech, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.”