James Comey pleads not guilty in case over Senate testimony

Ryan Tarinelli, CQ-Roll Call on Oct 8, 2025

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former FBI Director James B. Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday on federal charges that he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional proceeding, in a case critics cast as part of President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign against political foes.

Judge Michael Nachmanoff in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a Biden appointee, set a Jan. 5 trial date and signaled he would not let proceedings drag on in the case.

Patrick Fitzgerald, an attorney for Comey, entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the former FBI director and told the court his client is “anxious” to get a speedy trial.

A federal grand jury indicted Comey last month on the charges days after Trump publicly demanded that the Justice Department prosecute his perceived enemy. The arraignment was Comey’s first appearance in court on the charges.

In court, Fitzgerald indicated the defense plans to challenge the charges with arguments of vindictive prosecution and selective prosecution. Some legal experts have said Trump’s own recent words and actions could undermine any criminal cases that he has encouraged.

Fitzgerald also signaled the defense plans to challenge the appointment of Lindsey Halligan, the Trump ally who signed the indictment and is now leading the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Halligan was installed after the departure of Erik Siebert. Trump has taken credit for pushing out Siebert.

Nachmanoff said any motion to disqualify the appointment of Halligan would go to another judge to decide that issue. Such a motion could also tee off proceedings that could disrupt the case.

Fitzgerald told the judge that the defense did not have the full specifics of what the indictment is based upon. The two-page indictment contains only sparse information on the context of the criminal charges against the former FBI director.

During the arraignment hearing, Justice Department official Nathaniel Lemons said there is a large amount of discovery in the case and a significant amount of classified information.

Nachmanoff commented that it doesn’t appear to be an “overly complicated case.”

Outside the courthouse, a crowd of journalists gathered for a possible sighting of Comey to enter the courthouse, along with activists holding signs criticizing the case.

Minutes later inside the courtroom, Comey sat at a table in a suit with his hands clasped, and he later stood as the judge outlined the charges against him.

In the first count, Comey is accused of violating Section 1001 of Title 18, a rarely used law that has ensnared other high-profile figures. The indictment focuses on Comey’s testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 30, 2020, and states he lied when he said he had not authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports regarding an FBI investigation.

In the second count, Comey is accused of violating Section 1505 of Title 18 by obstructing “the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which an investigation was being had before the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

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