{"id":2496003,"date":"2025-10-08T07:56:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T11:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/james-comey-is-the-first-former-fbi-director-to-face-arraignment\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T07:58:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T11:58:30","slug":"james-comey-is-the-first-former-fbi-director-to-face-arraignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/james-comey-is-the-first-former-fbi-director-to-face-arraignment\/","title":{"rendered":"James Comey is the first former FBI director to face arraignment"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjames-comey-is-the-first-former-fbi-director-to-face-arraignment%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2496003&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former FBI Director James Comey is set too appear in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to face charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. This marks the first time a former FBI director has been criminally charged after leaving office.The indictment alleges that Comey knowingly lied during a 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing by denying authorization of an FBI official acting as an anonymous source in media reports related to the bureau&#8217;s examination into then-President Donald Trump. If convicted,he could face up to five years in prison. Comey has publicly declared his innocence and plans to plead not guilty.<\/p>\n<p>His arraignment,initially scheduled for Thursday,was moved up due to security concerns. The case is being prosecuted by federal attorneys from the Eastern District of North Carolina who were added to the docket recently. Comey&#8217;s defence is led by Patrick fitzgerald, a longtime friend and notable former prosecutor.<\/p>\n<p>Comey&#8217;s legal troubles represent a significant turn for a figure who has been both criticized and praised over the years for his handling of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-jeopardized-national-security-by-calling-verified-hunter-biden-evidence-disinformation-whistleblowers-say\/\" title=\"FBI Jeopardized National Security By Calling Verified Hunter Biden Evidence \u2018Disinformation,\u2019 Whistleblowers Say\">politically sensitive investigations<\/a>, including probes into Hillary Clinton&#8217;s emails and alleged connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. The case has attracted considerable attention amid ongoing political polarization. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Comey makes history as first former FBI director to face arraignment<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2363933\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FBI<\/a> Director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-comey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">James Comey<\/a> will appear in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday to face charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, a case that brings one of Washington&rsquo;s most polarizing law enforcement figures back to the same district he once served, albeit under drastically different circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>Comey, who once served as managing assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia&rsquo;s Richmond Division, was indicted on Sept. 25 by U.S. Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3817143\/trump-nominates-lindsey-halligan-top-virginia-prosecutor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lindsey Halligan<\/a>, making him the first former FBI director to be criminally charged after leaving office. His arraignment, initially scheduled for Thursday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3839859\/judge-moves-james-comey-arraignment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">was moved up a day<\/a> due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sleepy-joe-bidens-gang-who-stole-election-postpones-inauguration-rehearsal-claiming-security-threats-obama-advisor-lisa-monaco-to-take-over\/\" title=\"Sleepy Joe Biden\u2019s Gang Postpones Inauguration Rehearsal Claiming Security Threats \u2013 Obama Advisor Lisa Monaco to Take Over\">heightened security concerns<\/a>, according to court filings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3841317\/trump-sees-momentum-in-legal-fights-over-national-guard-deployments\/\">Trump sees momentum in legal fights over National Guard deployments<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3841156\/fbi-fires-agents-weaponized-law-enforcement-kash-patel\/\">FBI fires agents who &#8216;weaponized law enforcement&#8217; against US citizens, Patel says<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3840762\/fbi-working-hard-investigate-biden-bribery-evidence-pam-bondi\/\">FBI &lsquo;working hard&rsquo; to investigate Biden bribery evidence: Bondi<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FBI Director James Comey addresses the Intelligence and National Security Alliance Leadership Dinner in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. (AP Photo\/Cliff Owen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Comey is expected to plead not guilty and has publicly declared that he is innocent and eager to go to trial.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3825597\/grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-james-comey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-page indictment alleges<\/a> that Comey &ldquo;willfully and knowingly&rdquo; made a false statement during a 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing by denying that he authorized any FBI official to act as an anonymous source in media reports about the bureau&rsquo;s investigation into &ldquo;Person 1&rdquo; &mdash; widely understood to refer to President Donald Trump. Prosecutors say Comey, in fact, approved a subordinate to serve as a source for those stories.<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, Comey could face up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, CBS News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/fbi-arrest-perp-walk-james-comey-suspended-agent-refusing-doj-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that FBI leadership wanted to plan a &ldquo;perp walk&rdquo; for Comey, but a subsequent report from <em>Reuters <\/em>suggested the bureau struggled to find agents to handle that matter and reported that an agent was relieved from duty for declining to arrange that type of escort.<\/p>\n<p>The logistics surrounding Comey&rsquo;s arrival at court, including how his processing will be handled, remain unclear, though the arraignment is expected to take less than an hour.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the Wednesday morning arraignment,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/71459120\/united-states-v-comey\/?order_by=desc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the public court docket was updated<\/a>&nbsp;to include two prosecutors: Nathaniel Lemons and Gabriel J. Diaz. Neither prosecutor has a history of handling cases in the Eastern District of Virginia; they were more recently located in the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>Comey&rsquo;s indictment represents a stunning turn for a man who once led the nation&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ted-cruz-is-right-bidens-ban-of-terms-like-illegal-alien-is-orwellian-designed-to-cover-up-the-truth\/\" title=\"Ted Cruz Is Right: Biden\u2019s Ban Of Terms Like \u2018Illegal Alien\u2019 Is Orwellian, Designed To Cover Up The Truth\">premier law enforcement agency<\/a> and has long been both vilified and praised for his handling of politically charged investigations. As FBI director, he angered Democrats by reopening the probe into Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s emails shortly before the 2016 election, and infuriated Republicans by pursuing the Trump-Russia investigation months later. Trump fired him in May 2017, an episode that set off years of partisan recriminations.<\/p>\n<p>After his firing, Comey compared Trump to a &ldquo;mob boss&rdquo; in his memoir&nbsp;<em>A Higher Loyalty<\/em>. Earlier this year, he sustained criticism and was even visited by the Secret Service after posting an image of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3414962\/trump-james-comey-86-47-post\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">seashells in the sand that stated &ldquo;86 47,<\/a>&rdquo; a message that was interpreted by Trump and allies as a veiled threat or wish for harm to come to the president. Comey subsequently deleted the post and issued an apology after the backlash.<\/p>\n<p>The president has also engaged in name-calling against the former director, referring to him as a &ldquo;dirty cop&rdquo; and celebrating his indictment as &ldquo;Justice in America!&rdquo; last month when a grand jury handed down an indictment.<\/p>\n<p>Legal analysts note that the Eastern District of Virginia, known as the &ldquo;rocket docket&rdquo; for national security-related matters, was likely chosen because Comey testified remotely from his McLean home, which falls within the court&rsquo;s jurisdiction. Albany Law School professor Ray Brescia <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abajournal.com\/web\/article\/james-comey-the-former-prosecutor-high-ranking-official-and-author-who-is-now-a-federal-defendant#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told the <em>ABA Journal<\/em><\/a>  that the Alexandria grand jury pool may also have been viewed as more sympathetic to the government than one drawn from Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>Comey&rsquo;s defense is led by Patrick Fitzgerald, a longtime friend and former colleague from the Southern District of New York, where both men served as prosecutors alongside Rudy Giuliani in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Fitzgerald notably took on the case against former Chicago Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on charges related to an attempt to sell a U.S. Senate seat after former President Barack Obama vacated it.<\/p>\n<p>Comey&rsquo;s ties to the Virginia prosecutor&rsquo;s office also run deep &mdash; and personal. During his tenure in the&nbsp;Eastern District of Virginia, Comey served as the&nbsp;Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Richmond Division, where he oversaw major prosecutions involving terrorism, corporate fraud, and national security. He earned recognition for leading the case against&nbsp;Khobar Towers bombing suspect Ahmed al-Darbi&nbsp;and for his role in the&nbsp;Operation Greenback&nbsp;terrorism financing investigation.<\/p>\n<p>After Comey&rsquo;s indictment, his son-in-law recently resigned as a federal prosecutor in New York, while his daughter, Maurene, a former federal prosecutor in New York, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3807954\/james-comey-daughter-maurene-comey-blames-laura-loomer-retaliation-lawsuit-doj-firing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is suing the Justice Department<\/a> over her dismissal earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3839859\/judge-moves-james-comey-arraignment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JUDGE MOVES COMEY ARRAIGNMENT UP A DAY, CITING SECURITY CONCERNS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\">Likewise, the former U.S. Attorney whom Halligan replaced, Erik Siebert, is the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3819179\/trump-ally-assumes-virginia-prosecutor-post-after-letitia-james-case-scuffle\/\" target=\"_blank\">son-in-law of Richard Cullen<\/a>, a prominent Republican attorney in the Comm<\/span>onwealth, and who was reportedly a godfather to one of Comey&rsquo;s daughters, the&nbsp;Washington Post&nbsp;reported in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Trump fired Siebert after reports emerged that he was hesitant to bring a mortgage fraud indictment in a separate case against New York Attorney General Letitia James,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3825118\/james-comey-indictment-looming-trump-russia-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> though his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >familial ties raised appearance conflict accusations<\/a><\/a> from Trump allies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comey historic as first ex-FBI director arraigned in court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2496006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/James-Comey.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[23267,36083,64807,51149,33118],"class_list":["post-2496003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-arraignment","tag-fbi-director","tag-former-official","tag-james-comey","tag-legal-proceedings"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/James-Comey.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2496003"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2496008,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496003\/revisions\/2496008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2496006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2496003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2496003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2496003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}