Former FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment on Wednesday. This marks a significant moment as the Justice Department has taken the unprecedented step of criminally charging him, with the indictment occurring in late September. Comey is mandated to report to a courthouse in Northern Virginia at 10 a.m., nearly two weeks following a grand jury indictment that accuses him of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation that dates back five years.
Despite the serious nature of the allegations, Comey has maintained his innocence. In a video following his indictment, he expressed a desire for a trial, stating, “let's have a trial.” He will be joined at the proceeding by his wife, Patrice Comey, and their daughter, Maurene Comey, who previously served as a federal prosecutor in New York. Maurene has been in the news recently, as she was terminated by the Justice Department in July and has since filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over her dismissal.
During the arraignment, U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff is expected to formally present the charges against Comey and provide him with an opportunity to enter a plea. The judge may also evaluate the terms of Comey's pre-trial release. Typically, defendants like Comey who are instructed to self-surrender are released on their own recognizance, meaning they do not have to post bail. However, they could be required to pay a recognizance bond if they fail to appear in court, according to legal expert Mitchell Epner from the New York law firm Kudman Trachten Aloe Posner.
There is speculation that Comey’s legal team may file a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing that he is a victim of vindictive prosecution or that the U.S. Attorney overseeing the case, Lindsey Halligan, was appointed improperly. However, the exact strategy that Comey’s attorney, former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, will pursue remains uncertain.
The arraignment will take place in a courthouse located in Alexandria, Virginia, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Virginia. The case is being heard there because the charges stem from a Senate hearing that Comey participated in remotely from his home in Virginia in 2020. If the case advances to trial, Comey will be judged by a jury pool primarily composed of residents from the Washington, D.C. suburbs, an area that tends to lean Democrat; in the last election, 62.6% of voters in Alexandria's division supported Kamala Harris, while only 34.1% favored Trump.
The prosecution of Comey is being led by Lindsey Halligan, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan was appointed just days before Comey’s indictment and has a background as a former insurance attorney in Florida. Notably, she previously served as a personal attorney to Trump and was part of his defense team regarding a federal case involving mishandling classified documents. Halligan has been hands-on in the prosecution, personally signing Comey's indictment and appearing in court during the grand jury proceedings.
Comey’s legal representation comes from Patrick Fitzgerald, a prominent attorney who retired as a partner from the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in 2023. Fitzgerald is well-known for his role as special counsel during the George W. Bush administration, where he investigated the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity. He also served as U.S. Attorney in Chicago, where he oversaw the prosecution of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
The case will be overseen by Judge Michael Nachmanoff, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Joe Biden in 2021. His nomination was confirmed by a narrow Senate vote of 52-46, with support from three Republican senators. Nachmanoff previously served as a public defender and magistrate judge, overseeing significant cases, including the 2019 arraignment of individuals involved in Trump’s first impeachment.
Comey faces two primary charges. The first charge alleges that he made false statements during a Senate hearing in September 2020, specifically regarding his authorization of an FBI staffer to act as an anonymous source for news reports concerning the bureau's investigations into Hillary Clinton. During a heated exchange with Senator Ted Cruz, Comey asserted he had never approved any anonymous sources, a claim that prosecutors contest. The indictment does not detail the specific content of the alleged leak or identify the FBI staffer involved.
The second charge accuses Comey of obstructing a congressional proceeding by providing false and misleading statements during the same Senate hearing. Interestingly, the grand jury chose not to indict him on an additional count related to his testimony about whether he had received a tip from the intelligence community regarding Clinton and Trump. Critics of the indictment argue that it reflects Trump's ongoing vendetta against Comey, who was famously dismissed by the former president in 2017.
In the lead-up to Comey’s charges, there were internal discussions within the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia that suggested against pursuing charges. However, the Justice Department has publicly defended its actions, with Attorney General Pam Bondi stating that the indictment demonstrates the department's commitment to holding individuals accountable for the abuse of power and misleading the American public.
