DOJ prepares to formally indict James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress
The investigation centers on Comey's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020.
Comey leaving the House Rayburn Building/ Alex Edelman.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing an indictment againstJames Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to The Washington Post, the formal indictment is for "allegedly giving false testimony to Congress" during the investigation into Russia's involvementin the 2016 presidential election.
"The investigation centers on testimony Comey gave before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020, about the FBI’s missteps in the 'Crossfire Hurricane' probe, which had delved into possible but ultimately unproven collaboration between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign." reported from the Post.
Due to legal constraints, the deadline to indict Comey is next Tuesday, given that the deadline is five years from the date of the testimony.
Politics
Trump pressured Pam Bondi for not having taken “any action” against three of his political rivals
Luis Francisco Orozco
According to the cited media outlet, the case is being prepared by prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia. The choice of this state has to do with the fact that Comey did not testify in Washington DC, but from his home in McLean, Virginia, due to the pandemic.
The Post information came days after Donald Trump dismissed the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik S. Siebert. In his place, he appointed Lindsey Halligan, who worked as a White House aide.
However, as reported by ABC News, prosecutors advised Halligan not to move forward with the prosecution against Comey: "Earlier this week, prosecutors presented Lindsey Halligan -- Trump’s former personal attorney whom he appointed to lead the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia -- with a detailed memo recommending that she decline to bring perjury and obstruction charges against Comey, the sources familiar with the memo said."
Under the DOJ guidelines prosecutors are generally barred from bringing charges unless they can prove a defendant will "more likely than not be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by an unbiased trier of fact and that the conviction will be upheld on appeal."
LATEST
