Former FBI Director James Comey faces a maximum of five years in prison if found guilty on charges stemming from allegedly making false statements to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and obstructing justice, News Nation reported. Comey testified before the committee on September 30, 2020, regarding the FBI's investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election.
A grand jury indicted Comey on Thursday, finding that he allegedly falsely denied that he "authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports" about the 2016 case during the campaign. Trump was accused of colluding with Russia to help him win the 2016 election, a charge which later proved to be patently false.
Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the indictment with a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. "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," Bondi wrote.
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
According to Fox News, Comey will be arraigned on Oct. 9 in front of District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff. The criminal investigation began in July to uncover whether Comey had lied to Congress after Trump was embroiled in the FBI's "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation.
Special counsel Robert Mueller looked into the investigation and found in March 2019 that there was no proof of any collusion or conspiracy between Trump and the Kremlin. Armed with that information, Special Counsel John Durham was appointed to investigate the origins of the investigation that dogged Trump throughout the 2016 campaign and into his presidency.
As many suspected, Durham concluded that the FBI "failed to act" on doubts despite a "clear warning sign" that Hillary Clinton's campaign made the FBI the "target" of a scheme to "manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes" during the campaign. This all but proved the entire investigation was a politically motivated witch hunt that was used in an effort to keep Trump out of the White House.
Still, Comey claims that he is the victim of political targeting, having been allegedly held accountable for only a small part of the injustice. "My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way," Comey claimed in a video post to Instagram.
"We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either," he went on. "My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith," Comey later concluded.
As Comey makes himself a martyr, the media dutifully reports his indictment as an example of Trump targeting his political enemies. However, as Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary under George W. Bush, expertly demonstrated in a post to X Friday, this is a blatant double standard from the press.
"I don’t know if James Comey is innocent or guilty, but I do know that when the Biden DoJ indicted Trump aides Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon, the WP and NYT treated it as straight news, not as Biden going after his opponents. But now, it’s all about Trump getting his enemies," Fleischer pointed out.
Contrast it with these headlines today: pic.twitter.com/NZC3OAwlbD
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 26, 2025
The media consultant shared screenshots of several headlines from the news outlets when then-President Joe Biden's administration started going after Trump's former aides and associates. In another post in the thread, Fleischer shared headlines from the story about Comey's indictment, where those same outlets called it part of his plan to "prosecute foes" and called Comey a "longtime Trump target."
The left tried to destroy Trump with investigations, prosecutions, and smears in the media thanks to people like Comey. If he's guilty, Comey deserves to serve every day of his sentence for what could have amounted to election interference and, at the very least, for trying to destroy Trump's reputation
