Former FBI Director James Comey was officially indicted Thursday evening by a grand jury on two counts.
Comey was nominated to lead the investigative bureau by former President Barack Obama and was dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017 during his first term.
He has long tangled with Trump, particularly over his investigation into Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and a separate investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email use.
Trump described the investigation into his campaign as a “hoax” and “witch hunt.”
A recent Department of Justice investigation was centered on whether Comey made false statements to Congress in his September 2020 testimony about Russia’s involvement with Trump.
The statute of limitations for Comey’s alleged crimes expires next week, and Trump’s former personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, who has now been tapped to be a U.S. attorney in Virginia, presented evidence to a grand jury and asked for an indictment.
On Thursday, the grand jury indicted Comey on two counts: for allegedly making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of justice.
Here’s what people involved in the case have to say:
Comey speaks out
In a video posted to his Instagram account, Comey said he has known for years that there are “costs to standing up to Donald Trump.”
“We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either,” he said.
Comey said he is not afraid and hopes others are not afraid of Trump.
“I hope, instead you are enraged, you are paying attention and you will vote like your beloved country depends on it, which it does,” he said.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent,” Comey continued. “So, let’s have a trial, and keep the faith.”
Trump weighs in
Shortly after Comey’s indictment was official, Trump shared a message online that it was “JUSTICE IN AMERICA!” He called Comey “one of the worst human beings” in the country, and is now beginning to be “held responsible for his crimes against our Nation.”
Trump publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek legal action against Comey and others for their handling of the investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign and election win.
In remarks to reporters Friday morning before departing the White House, Trump said it would be a “pretty easy case” to find Comey guilty, despite Halligan, a former insurance lawyer, taking on her first criminal case at the president’s direction.
Trump said that Comey lied to Congress and Comey “didn’t think he would get caught.”
Trump was asked by a reporter if he was concerned that the next time a Democrat is president that they will pursue legal action against his FBI director or others in his administration. The president said Democrats brought cases against him in the four years he was not in office.
He also said that pursuing legal action against Comey isn’t “about revenge” for the cases brought against him.
“It’s about justice, really. It’s not revenge. It’s also about the fact that you can’t let this go on. They are sick, radical left people and they can’t get away with it,” he said. “And Comey, was one of the people, he wasn’t the biggest, but he is a dirty cop. He has always been a dirty cop. Everybody knew it.”
Trump was also asked that now that Comey has been indicted, if there are others on his list to indict. He said there isn’t a list, but believes others will be indicted.
“They’re corrupt. These were corrupt, radical left Democrats,” Trump said, adding that Comey was “worse than a Democrat.”
He also argued that Democrats have “weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history” and hopes there are other people to indict.
Other administration officials and GOP lawmakers celebrate
After the news broke about Comey’s indictment, DOJ leader Bondi released a statement that appeared to be about the case. No one is above the law, she said.
“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,” she wrote.
Current FBI Director Kash Patel said the indictment was another step in the FBI’s promise for 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. Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on,” he wrote. “Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose.”
Patel reiterated Bondi’s remark that no one, especially people in positions of power, is above the law.
He also defended his bureau against accusations that Comey was being indicted over political retribution from the president, who has for years been unhappy with the FBI’s investigation into the Russia allegations. Patel said career agents, intelligence analysts and other staff members led the investigation into Comey.
“They called the balls and strikes and will continue to do so. The wildly false accusations attacking this FBI for the politicization of law enforcement comes from the same bankrupt media that sold the world on Russia Gate- it’s hypocrisy on steroids,” Patel wrote. “Their baseless objections tell us now, more than ever, that we are precisely over the target and will remain on mission until completion.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., shared several posts online, praising Patel for the work and investigation from FBI employees. She also said the indictment confirms what many Americans have believed, “even the leaders of our most ‘esteemed’ institutions have been corrupted to the core.”
“If the FBI Director himself was breaking the law, the real question is: who else in the Obama & Biden administrations were committing crimes right under our noses?” she wrote. “The only way to restore trust in our government is to expose every single one of them, and bring them all to justice.”
Democrats defend Comey
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., joined CNN on Thursday to criticize the indictment, calling the indictment “fundamentally a break point in our system of government.”
“The United States, for its entire history, has gone around the world promoting anti-corruption, promoting democracy, and the number one thing that our government insists upon in any other country that wants to be democratic, wants to get our support, is that the leaders do not use the criminal justice system to retaliate or to go after their political adversaries,” Goldman said.
Goldman argued that Comey’s case from the DOJ is exactly that. He pointed to Comey’s Instagram statement about how it was a threat to democracy. Goldman said the case itself is less of a concern than the larger implications.
“It doesn’t even really matter so much tonight, because even James Comey recognizes that the individual case against him is far less important than the damage this is doing and has done to the Department of Justice,” he continued.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said the case against Comey isn’t a case at all, instead it’s “political prosecution, plain and simple.”
“Trump has weaponized the DOJ and other agencies to punish his critics, and this is just the latest example,” he wrote online.
Van Hollen joined MSNBC where he warned Americans that the United States may no longer “be on the way to authoritarianism,” but instead the country “is there.” Comey’s indictment is an example of it, he said.
“Like James Comey said, we need to stand up,” the senator said.