Ex- FBI Director James Comey Enters Innocent Plea to Charges of Misleading Lawmakers
Ex- FBI director James Comey has pleaded not guilty to providing misleading information to US legislators and impeding a lawmaking procedure.
His legal representative entered the plea on his behalf in a national courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday.
Patrick Fitzgerald announced he would attempt to have the case terminated for several reasons including that his the accused, a critic of Donald Trump, was being targeted.
The former director was indicted just days after the former president urged his attorney general to proceed against him.
Court Developments
In court on mid-week, Comey's lawyer Mr Fitzgerald advised the magistrate they intended to submit multiple petitions to dismiss the case before a court case, arguing the government's case was spiteful and that a US attorney was unlawfully appointed to take over the proceedings.
The former director's case was originally handled by the original attorney, who stepped down under influence from Trump after his examination into a different political adversary - New York Attorney General Letitia James - was unable to initiate prosecution.
Legal Setting
The former director seemed in good spirits as he came into the court on Wednesday, conversing with his lawyers and sharing humor. He was accompanied by his spouse, his wife and daughter his daughter, a federal prosecutor who the Trump administration terminated.
Following the reading to the judge state his legal protections and the pair of allegations against him in legal proceedings on mid-week, Mr Comey was asked if he understood the allegations.
"Absolutely your honour. Thank you," he told the proceedings.
Historical Information
The former director was the FBI Director from 2013-2017 and was fired about four months into Trump's first term as president. At the moment, Mr Comey was overseeing an examination into international campaign influence and whether there were any links between Russia and the election effort.
While in office, James Comey sparked a counter-response from liberal politicians when he declared just shortly prior to the national vote that he was probing presidential nominee the candidate's use of a private email server. Charges against Hillary Clinton were not filed, leading to negative feedback from conservative politicians as well.
Current Allegations
Government attorneys claim Mr Comey lied to US lawmakers during a legislative proceeding in recent years when he was being interrogated about both the Clinton investigation as well as the election interference investigation. They say he misled the legislative body by claiming he had not approved someone at the FBI to leak to media organizations information about the FBI investigations.
Government lawyers also accuse James Comey of "improperly attempting to affect, block and impede" the panel by giving misleading testimony to it.
Individual Responses
In a video Mr Comey shared to his Instagram after he was charged, he said he was wrongly accused and alleged the former president of conducting himself like a "dictator".
"My family and I have known for considerable time that there are ramifications to challenging the former president," he commented. "We choose not to live on our bended knee."
"I am not guilty," he added. "Thus initiate a trial."
The accusations against Mr Comey came after Donald Trump published on social media insisting on his attorney general, Ms Bondi, take legal action against James Comey and other people.
Associated Events
- Previous FBI director James Comey indicted on pair of allegations
- What accusations is previous chief James Comey face?