Ex-FBI chief Comey pleads not guilty in high-stakes Trump-era legal battle
His lawyers say they plan to argue that the prosecution is politically motivated and should be dismissed
James Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a criminal case that has highlighted the Justice Department’s efforts to target adversaries of US President Donald Trump, with lawyers for the former FBI director saying they plan to argue that the prosecution is politically motivated and should be dismissed.
The arraignment lasted less than half an hour, but it was nonetheless loaded with historical significance given that the case has amplified concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponised in pursuit of the Republican president’s political enemies and is operating at the behest of an administration determined to seek retribution.
Comey’s not guilty plea to allegations that he lied to Congress five years ago kick-starts a process of legal wrangling that could culminate in a trial months from now at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington.
Defence lawyers said they intend to ask that the case be thrown out before trial on grounds that it constitutes a vindictive prosecution and also plan to challenge the legitimacy of the appointment of the prosecutor who filed the charges just days after Trump hastily appointed her to her position.
“It’s the honour of my life to represent Mr Comey in this matter,” one of Comey’s lawyers, Patrick Fitzgerald, a long-time friend who served with him in President George W. Bush’s Justice Department, said in court on Wednesday.