James Comey: Donald Trump gloats after former FBI director charged

Former FBI director James Comey has issued his first public response after being indicted on two criminal charges.

Mr Comey was charged on Thursday (local time) with making false statements and obstruction in a congressional proceeding, stemming from his 2020 testimony about the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The indictment was filed just days after US President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute Mr Comey and other perceived political enemies.

“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 in any other way,” the former FBI director said in a video statement posted to Instagram.

“We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either,” he told his followers.

“Fear is the tool of a tyrant...but I’m not afraid.

“I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith.”

The indictment makes Mr Comey the first former senior government official to face prosecution in connection with the long-concluded investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Prosecutors have been evaluating whether Mr Comey lied to lawmakers during his September 30, 2020, testimony related to the investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Trump and his supporters have long derided that investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign.

Mr Trump reacted to the news with a post on his social media platform Truth Social, writing ”JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI. Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts. He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Trump loyalist, is being weaponised in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies.

Moments after Mr Comey was indicted, Ms Bondi took to social media to state “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.”

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has blasted Mr Comey’s indictment as an “abuse of power”.

“Trump has made clear that he intends to turn our justice system into a weapon for punishing and silencing his critics,” he said.

Senator Warner said after the forced ouster of the US attorney in his state, the Trump administration installed a loyalist to bring the charges that others had rejected.

“This kind of interference is a dangerous abuse of power,” Warner said. “Our system depends on prosecutors making decisions based on evidence and the law, not on the personal grudges of a politician determined to settle scores.”

On Saturday local time, Mr Trump demanded that Ms Bondi prosecute several political opponents in a series of extraordinary social media posts, a breakdown of traditional fire walls that have existed between the White House and Justice Department on prosecutorial discretion.

He urged the prosecutions of Mr Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California), claiming all three were “guilty as hell” and that his supporters were noting “nothing has been done”.

“We cant delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump said in one message to Bondi. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

The effort to target Mr Comey has been viewed with scepticism in the Eastern District of Virginia, the US attorney’s office handling the case.

The district’s top federal prosecutor, Erik Siebert, resigned last week after drawing Trump’s wrath for expressing doubts about the strength of the case, and the No.2 official, Mary “Maggie” Cleary, has also expressed concerns, according to people familiar with the situation.

Some other prosecutors in the office have told Siebert’s successor, Lindsey Halligan, that charges should not be filed due to lack of evidence, according to one of the sources.

Mr Trump and Mr Comey have had an acrimonious relationship since the start of the President’s first term in 2017.

Mr Trump fired him as FBI director days after Mr Comey publicly confirmed that the president was under investigation over his election campaign’s connections to Russia.

Mr Comey then emerged as a prominent critic of the president, calling him “morally unfit” for office.