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Former FBI Director James Comey arrives to testify under subpoena behind closed doors before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7, 2018. (J. Scott Applewhite - File / AP)

Disgraced Former FBI Director James Comey to Make First Court Appearance in DOJ Case

By The Associated Press October 7, 2025 at 9:05pm

Former FBI Director James Comey is set to make his first court appearance Wednesday in a Justice Department criminal case accusing him of having lied to Congress five years ago.

The arraignment is expected to be brief, but the moment is nonetheless loaded with historical significance.

Comey is expected to plead not guilty at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, kickstarting a process of legal wrangling in which defense lawyers will almost certainly move to get the indictment dismissed before trial, possibly by arguing that the case amounts to a selective or vindictive prosecution.

The two-count indictment alleges that Comey made a false statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020, by denying he had authorized an associate to serve as an anonymous source to the news media, and that he obstructed a congressional proceeding.

Comey has denied any wrongdoing and has said he was looking forward to a trial.

The indictment was the latest chapter in a long-broken relationship between President Donald Trump and Comey.

Trump arrived in office in January 2017 as Comey, appointed to the FBI director job by President Barack Obama four years earlier, was overseeing the Russiagate probe into Trump — an investigation that amounted to little more than a witch hunt into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Comey was abruptly fired in May 2017. The firing was investigated by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller as an act of potential obstruction of justice, though nothing came from that investigation.

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Congress, Court, Crime, Donald Trump, Investigation, James Comey, Russia, U.S. News, Virginia, WJ Wire

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