Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on two charges—one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice—on Thursday, Sept. 25, sources told CNN, The New York Times and ABC News.
“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,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X. “We will follow the facts in this case.”
The charges come just days after President Donald Trump called on the Justice Department to prosecute Comey and other political adversaries in a Sept. 20 Truth Social post directed at Bondi. A day before that post, Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned. He was replaced by White House aide Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former defense attorney, who lacks prosecutorial experience, according to ABC News.
Trump later celebrated the indictment on Truth Social.
The indictment represents one of the most high-profile political moves during Trump’s presidency.
MSNBC first reported the impending indictment on Wednesday, Sept. 24, including sources who said a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia opposed bringing the case and was recently removed.
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“Sources believe that at least one element of the indictment—if it goes forward—will accuse him of lying to Congress during his testimony on September 30, 2020, about whether he authorized a leak of information,” MSNBC correspondents Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig shared on X. “The five year statute of limitations on that charge would lapse on Tuesday.”
Comey served as FBI director from 2013 until Trump fired him in May 2017, after Comey oversaw the bureau’s investigation into potential ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Since then, he has been a frequent target of the president, who has claimed Comey is part of a “deep state” effort to undermine his administration.
Comey testified before Congress on Sept. 30, 2020, defending the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation as “appropriate” and “essential.”
However, his testimony drew further ire from Trump, particularly when Comey suggested the president’s behavior led him to question whether Russia had compromising information on him. Comey also emphasized that former President Barack Obama “never” asked him to investigate a political rival—unlike Trump, who frequently targeted Hillary Clinton in tweets and campaign speeches.
“It would compromise the independence of the Justice Department and the FBI’s work,” Comey said. “It would introduce politics into what should be a fact-driven process.”
The former director angered the Trump administration in May when he posted—and later deleted—a photo of seashells arranged to spell out “8647,” which White House officials interpreted as an assassination threat against the president. (The number “86” is slang for removing or getting rid of something, and Trump is the 47th U.S. president.)
Hours later, Comey clarified on Instagram that he had discovered the shells arranged in that pattern during a beach walk and assumed it was a political message.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” he said. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
In political circles, “86” is sometimes used nonviolently to suggest removing or impeaching someone. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz notably used “86’d” in 2024 to describe the ousting of several top House Republicans.
