File photo: Former FBI director James Comey
The justice department is preparing to seek an indictment against former FBI director James Comey on charges that he lied to Congress during testimony in 2020, with prosecutors racing against a looming legal deadline, according to people familiar with the matter cited by news agency AP.The case, centred on Comey’s September 30, 2020, testimony before lawmakers about the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation, is being pursued in the Eastern District of Virginia. Under federal law, prosecutors have five years to bring charges of perjury, meaning the deadline expires next Tuesday. Officials are expected to present the matter to a grand jury as early as Thursday, according to AP.MSNBC reported that one element of the possible indictment is likely to accuse Comey of lying about whether he authorised a leak to The Wall Street Journal for an October 2016 article regarding the justice department’s probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails. Senator Ted Cruz, in a December 2020 letter to the justice department, flagged contradictions between Comey and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe on this issue. “Mr McCabe says that he told Mr Comey of the leak and that Mr Comey approved — effectively authorising the leak after the fact. Mr Comey, on the other hand, has said that he neither authorised the leak nor knew of Mr McCabe’s involvement. One of them is lying under oath — a federal crime,” Cruz wrote. The timing has raised concerns about political interference.According to news agency AP, US President Donald Trump has recently pressed attorney general Pam Bondi to charge Comey and other perceived adversaries, and last week replaced US attorney Erik Siebert — who had resisted pressure to bring charges — with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and one of Trump’s personal lawyers. Halligan lacks the federal criminal trial experience typical for the role.Trump has long branded the Russia probe as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.” In a social media post last weekend, he labelled Comey “guilty as hell” and expressed frustration that charges had not yet been filed. He has also said of Comey and former CIA director John Brennan, “I think they’re very dishonest people. I think they’re crooked as hell. And maybe they have to pay a price for that”, according to Fox News.According to AP, Comey’s lawyer declined to comment, saying he had received no updates from the justice department. If indicted, Comey would be the first former senior official prosecuted over the Trump-Russia investigation, which multiple reviews confirmed showed Moscow sought to aid Trump’s 2016 campaign.Past justice department inquiries had previously declined to charge Comey. A special counsel investigation led by John Durham also stopped short of accusing FBI leadership of illegal conduct, though it criticised missteps in the bureau’s handling of the Russia probe, as per Fox News.Prosecutors are now pushing to secure a grand jury indictment before the five-year statute of limitations runs out, though it remains unclear which statements will form the basis of the charges and how strong the case might be.
