United States v. Comey — Misusing Federal Law Enforcement (VA)

The Justice Department filed charges against former FBI Director James Comey in Virginia on Sept. 25, 2025, after President Trump publicly called for them. The charges come eight years after Comey authorized the launch of a federal investigation into Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign’s ties to Russian intelligence operatives. Soon after that investigation began, Trump fired Comey as FBI director.

The charges against Comey allege that he made a false statement to lawmakers in testimony he gave in September 2020 to a Senate committee, and obstructed Congress as a result.

The former lead prosecutor for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to pursue the charges, finding there was not enough evidence to support an indictment. That prosecutor was allegedly forced to resign by the Trump administration.

Lindsey Halligan, one of the president’s former defense lawyers who now leads the office, decided to bring the charges to a grand jury herself, with no career prosecutors joining her. She has since fired or forced resignations from several career prosecutors in the office. This shakeup in the U.S. attorney’s office has led to accusations of politically motivated prosecution and resistance against the indictment.

In October 2025, Comey pleaded not guilty. A trial is set for Jan. 5, 2026.

On Oct. 20, 2025, Comey asked a federal judge to dismiss his criminal charges, arguing they were illegally brought because of the president’s personal animus toward him.

On Oct. 27, an ideologically diverse group of more than a dozen leading democracy scholars and experts, represented by States United, filed an amicus brief in the district court in support of Comey’s motion, arguing that the political motivations behind Comey’s prosecution threaten the rule of law.

The brief draws parallels between the Trump administration’s influence over the Justice Department’s actions and tactics commonly used in autocracies or backsliding democracies.

Leaders in those nations have used their power to undermine the independence of law enforcement and the judiciary by going after perceived political enemies; similar patterns are emerging in the U.S., the scholars explain.

The group concludes that the case should be dismissed. It is important now for courts to recognize and protect against the patterns that lead nations into a “descent into autocracy,” they argue.

For years, Trump has openly criticized Comey, threatening him with jail time. Before the indictment, he complained publicly that the Justice Department had not yet brought charges against Comey, saying he was “guilty as hell.” After the grand jury’s indictment, the president celebrated, calling Comey a “dirty cop.”

In a pair of motions for dismissal filed on Oct. 20, 2025, Comey’s lawyers not only argued that the charges were unconstitutional and “an egregious abuse of power by the federal government,” but that Halligan was “defectively appointed” to her position as U.S. attorney and didn’t have the authority to bring the charges.

• Amicus brief (filed Oct. 27, 2025)
• Indictment (filed Sept. 25, 2025)
• Motion to dismiss—vindictive and selective prosecution (filed Oct. 20, 2025)
• Motion to dismiss—unlawful appointment (filed Oct. 20, 2025)

• Virginia Mercury: Virginia grand jury indicts former FBI Director Comey on 2 federal charges after Trump urges prosecution (Sept. 25, 2025)
• VPM: Former FBI director Comey pleads not guilty to lying to Congress (Oct. 8, 2025)
• CNBC: James Comey asks judge to toss criminal case, says Trump-picked prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was appointed unlawfully (Oct. 20, 2025)