Previous Federal Bureau of Investigation Head James Comey Submits Innocent Plea to Charges of Lying Lawmakers

James Comey court appearance
Comey has maintained his non-guilt regarding the allegations

Former FBI director James the ex-FBI chief has entered an innocent plea to providing misleading information to lawmakers and impeding a lawmaking procedure.

The former director's attorney entered the response acting as his counsel in a US district court in the Virginia city of Alexandria on Wednesday.

The defense lawyer announced he would attempt to have the case dismissed for several causes including that his the accused, a opponent of President Donald Trump, was being selectively prosecuted.

Mr Comey was indicted just days after Trump pushed his top legal official to take action against him.

Legal Proceedings

At the proceedings on Wednesday, the defense counsel the legal representative advised the court they aimed to present several petitions to terminate the legal matter before a trial, arguing the prosecution was spiteful and that a federal prosecutor was wrongfully assigned to take over the proceedings.

The former director's case was first overseen by the original attorney, who resigned under pressure from Donald Trump after his probe into an additional political adversary - NY AG Letitia James - did not succeed to initiate prosecution.

Courtroom Atmosphere

Mr Comey seemed in positive mood as he came into the court on mid-week, speaking with his legal team and making jokes. He was joined by his partner, Mrs Failor and child Maureen Comey, a US lawyer who the former government dismissed.

Following the reading to the court recite his constitutional guarantees and the pair of allegations against him in court on mid-week, the defendant was questioned if he understood the accusations.

"I do your honour. Thank you," he told the proceedings.

Historical Information

The former director was the head of the FBI from 2013-2017 and was terminated about a few months into Donald Trump's initial presidency as national leader. At the time, he was leading an probe into Russian election interference and whether there were any links between Russia and the presidential campaign.

During his tenure, James Comey sparked a backlash from Democrats when he announced just days before the 2016 presidential election that he was examining presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's use of a non-governmental email account. Legal actions against the candidate were not pursued, leading to disapproval from conservative politicians as well.

Current Allegations

Government attorneys claim the former director lied to US lawmakers during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in recent years when he was being questioned about both the Clinton investigation as well as the Russia election probe. They allege he misled the upper house by saying he had not permitted an individual at the Federal Bureau of Investigation to disclose to news outlets data about the agency probes.

Prosecutors also accuse Mr Comey of "wrongfully trying to sway, obstruct and delay" the panel by giving misleading testimony to it.

Individual Responses

Through a recording James Comey posted to his Instagram after he was indicted, he said he was not guilty and accused Donald Trump of conducting himself like a "autocrat".

"We have known for considerable time that there are consequences to standing up to Mr Trump," he said. "We refuse to live on our kneeling."
"I'm innocent," he added. "So let's have a court case."

These allegations against James Comey emerged after Donald Trump shared on online platforms calling for his top legal official, Ms Bondi, charge Mr Comey and additional individuals.

Connected Matters

  • Previous Federal Bureau of Investigation chief James Comey indicted on dual counts
  • Which allegations does previous chief James Comey face?
Matthew Aguilar
Matthew Aguilar

A tech enthusiast and writer passionate about emerging technologies and their impact on society, with a background in software development.