James Comey, the man Donald Trump once fired and later branded a national villain, is now facing criminal charges under Trump’s revived Justice Department.
Comey’s legal team insists the accusations are groundless. His attorney said the former FBI Director “denies the charges in their entirety” and vowed to fight them in court.
For Trump, however, the indictment is a long-awaited triumph. From the earliest days of his political rise, he had promised to lock up his critics. Now, his administration has finally managed to haul one of them before a grand jury.
The charges center on Comey’s 2020 testimony before Congress, where prosecutors allege he misled lawmakers by denying that he authorized anonymous leaks to the press about an FBI probe. But even inside the Justice Department, the case has been met with skepticism. Senior prosecutors in Virginia warned the evidence fell short of proving any crime. The district’s top federal prosecutor even resigned last week after resisting pressure to pursue the matter, sources said.
Despite internal pushback, the indictment moved forward under Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump lawyer turned U.S. Attorney, who personally presented the case to the grand jury—an unusual step rarely taken by someone in her position.
Notably, the grand jury rejected one of the proposed charges, underscoring doubts about the strength of the case.
The fallout has already reached Comey’s family. His son-in-law resigned from a national security post, citing loyalty to the Constitution, while his daughter—herself a former federal prosecutor—was fired months ago and has sued, alleging retaliation because of her last name.
Trump, meanwhile, celebrated the indictment with a triumphant online post: “JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”
The move is being condemned by legal experts who say it reeks of political vengeance. “This indictment has all the hallmarks of a vindictive and meritless prosecution,” said one prominent former government ethics official.
Comey and Trump’s bitter history runs deep. Trump dismissed him as FBI Director in 2017, days after Comey publicly confirmed that the president was under investigation for ties to Russia. That firing set off a chain reaction that eventually brought Special Counsel Robert Mueller into the picture.
Though Mueller’s probe uncovered extensive contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives, it stopped short of charging a criminal conspiracy—something Trump has long seized upon to portray himself as the victim of a “witch hunt.”
Now, with Trump back in power, the tables have turned. His Justice Department isn’t just revisiting old battles; it’s waging them with a vengeance.
