Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted by the Justice Department on Thursday. He has been charged with one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice, related to Senate testimony he gave almost five years ago.
In a video posted to Instagram following the indictment announcement, Comey asserted his innocence.
Comey, who was fired by President Trump in 2017, begins his video by saying he and his family “have known for years that there are costs to 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,” he says.
“Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right, but I’m not afraid, and I hope you’re not either,” Comey continues, appearing to reference his daughter, Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor in New York who helped prosecute Sean “Diddy” Combs and previously worked on the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Maurene Comey was fired by the Justice Department in July and said in a note to colleagues confirming her departure: “Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”
James Comey says in the video Thursday night, “I hope instead you are engaged, you are paying attention, and you will vote like your beloved country depends upon it, which it does.”
“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 adds.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday night, President Trump celebrated the former FBI director’s indictment, calling Comey “one of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to.”
James Comey’s attorney, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, said in a statement: “Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety. We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom.”
A majority of grand jurors did not approve indicting James Comey on an additional count of lying to Congress, according to court papers — an unusual development since grand juries rarely reject charges.
The indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia, just days before the five-year statute of limitations for charges arising out of his September 2020 testimony to Congress was set to expire on Tuesday.
Jennifer Jacobs,
Scott MacFarlane,
Melissa Quinn,
Jacob Rosen and
Joe Walsh
contributed to this report.
