Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury, marking a stunning turn in a yearslong political and legal saga.
A majority on an impaneled grand jury voted to indict the former FBI director on two of three counts sought by prosecutors, one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice, according to documents filed at the federal court located in Alexandria, Virginia. The indictment stems from the former director’s 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in the bureau’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement Thursday evening without directly stating Comey’s name.
No one is above the law. Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) September 25, 2025
“No one is above the law,” she said. “Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.”
The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505. It also alleges that Comey made a false statement in violation of 18 USC 1001. Each respective count carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison.
“Comey stated that he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment that statement was false,” the DOJ wrote in a press readout.
The grand jury did not agree to indict on count one of the indictment, which alluded to whether Comey knowingly made a false statement about whether he knew about the “Clinton plan” to smear Trump as a Russian colluder, an apparent reference to the Hillary Clinton-backed opposition research report known as the Steele dossier.
The former FBI director is slated to be arraigned on Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. where U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, will preside over the case for now.
The subject of the DOJ’s investigation surrounded Comey’s Sept. 30, 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he stated under oath that he had not authorized leaks of information about the Clinton or Russia investigations. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has reportedly contradicted that account, and congressional investigators have long viewed Comey’s statement as perjurious.
During that hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) pressed Comey on whether he had ever authorized leaks to the media about the FBI’s investigations into Trump or Hillary Clinton.
“I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017,” Comey told Cruz. Asked whether former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was “not telling the truth” when he claimed otherwise, Comey replied, “I’m not going to characterize Andy’s testimony, but mine is the same today.”
The 5-year anniversary of that testimony is set to pass on Tuesday, a date that prosecutors were carefully eyeing due to the statute of limitations. Prior to the indictment, reports emerged that career prosecutors in the Eastern District warned Halligan that the evidence in the case may have fallen short of establishing probable cause.
Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel, who entered his position on a vow to weed out corruption from the previous administration, also released a statement without naming the Obama-era bureau director but referenced his handling of the “Russiagate hoax” in a statement to X.
Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability. For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust. Every day, we continue the fight to…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 25, 2025
“Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability,” Patel wrote. “For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust. Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on.”
“Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose,” Patel continued. “Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch. No one is above the law.”
Comey posted a video to Bluesky just after the indictment came down, stating that he’s “not afraid.”
“We’ve known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump,” he said. “We will not live on our knees… Fear is the tool of a tyrant.”
“I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial, and keep the faith,” he added.
The case is being overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which recently underwent a leadership shake-up following the Trump administration’s removal of acting U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert. His replacement, Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump personal attorney, was sworn in earlier this week and is expected to lead several sensitive prosecutions.
JAMES COMEY INDICTMENT LOOMING? WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Comey is represented by attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, a former U.S. attorney who previously represented former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of corruption-related crimes tied to efforts to sell a U.S. Senate seat vacated by former President Barack Obama. Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 14 years in prison, and was pardoned by Trump in February.
Trump allies have long accused Comey of misleading Congress and authorizing politically motivated leaks about the FBI’s probe into Trump campaign associates in 2016. In a post earlier this month, Trump urged Bondi to move “without delay” in pursuing charges against several former Obama-era officials, including Comey.
