The former director of FBI James Comey declared himself innocent of both positions in a federal accusation related to his testimony before the Senate Judicial Committee in 2020.
He is accused of a position of false statements and a position of obstruction of a Congress procedure.
The statement was filed by his lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald, who requested a jury trial.
The judge read the charges and said they carry a penalty of up to 5 years in prison with a fine of $ 250,000.
He asked if Comey understood the charges and he replied: “Yes, honor.”
The trial date was set for January 5, the judge said.
The judge asked how long the government was waiting for the trial, and the government said between 2 and 3 days.
The former director of the Federal Research Office, James Comey, speaks with media members in the Rayburn House office building in Capitol Hill on December 7, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The judge said he was willing to move forward with a quick trial. The government said the case was “complicated”, but it did not seem to object to the date of trial in court.
“This does not seem to be a complicated case,” said the judge.
Fitzgerald agreed and said: “We see this as a simple case.”
Comey was before court on Wednesday since he was accused last month.
He joined in the court of the Court of Alexandria, Virginia, Fitzgerald and lawyers David Kelley and Jessica Carmichael.
The government was represented by the US prosecutor Lindsey Halligan and Nathaniel “Tyler” Lemons, prosecutor of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The wife of Comey and her daughter, Maureen Comey, were seen arriving at the Court of Alexandria before the procedure.
A Federal Grand Jury accused Comey on September 25. Comey has denied having acted badly and has said that you look forward to a trial.
The accusation occurred a few days after President Donald Trump publicly demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice act “now” against Comey and other political opponents.
Comey has been white for Trump’s criticism for his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections for a long time, Trump, speaking with journalists at the Oval office, called Comey a “dirty police” and said it was a “simple case.”
But the Comey issue has generated confusion in the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for Eastern District of Virginia, according to Fuentes. The previous US prosecutor, Erik Siebert, resigned from Trump administration pressures to present criminal charges against Comment and New York Attorney, Letitia James. Trump said he fired Siebert.
Lindsey Halligan, lawyer of Donald Trump, holds ceremonial proclamations that will be signed by Donald Trump (not in the photo) in the Oval Office of the White House, on March 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.
To the Drago/Getty Images
Then, Trump personally chose Halligan, a White House assistant and his former defense lawyer, to replace Siebert and direct the office. Halligan presented the Comey case before the Grand Jury, despite the fact that prosecutors and investigators determined that there were not enough evidence to accuse him, ABC News reported at that time.
Before the reading of charges on Wednesday, the Department of Justice added two American prosecutors from outside the State to work in the case.
Alexander Mallin, Peter Charalambous and Ely Brown of ABC News contributed to this report.
