Ex- Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey Submits Denial Plea to Allegations of Lying Congress
Former FBI chief James Comey has denied the charges to giving untrue testimony to lawmakers and obstructing a lawmaking procedure.
His legal representative submitted the plea acting as his counsel in a US district court in the Virginia city of Alexandria on Wednesday.
The defense lawyer announced he would try to have the proceedings dismissed for various reasons including that his the accused, a critic of former President Trump, was being singled out.
James Comey was charged soon after Trump urged his chief prosecutor to take action against him.
Legal Proceedings
At the proceedings on mid-week, his attorney the legal representative told the judge they aimed to submit multiple petitions to throw out the legal matter before a trial, stating the government's case was vindictive and that a government lawyer was unlawfully designated to assume control of the proceedings.
Mr Comey's case was originally overseen by the original attorney, who resigned under pressure from the former president after his investigation into a different rival - New York Attorney General Letitia James - failed to bring criminal charges.
Judicial Environment
James Comey seemed in optimistic frame of mind as he came into the court on Wednesday, chatting with his legal team and being lighthearted. He was accompanied by his partner, Patrice Failor and daughter Maureen Comey, a US lawyer who the former government dismissed.
Following the reading to the court read his rights and the pair of allegations against him in the courtroom on mid-week, Mr Comey was questioned if he understood the charges.
"Absolutely your honour. Thank you very much," he informed the court.
Previous Events
The former director was the head of the FBI from 2013-2017 and was dismissed about four months into Donald Trump's initial presidency as president. At the time, he was overseeing an investigation into Russian election interference and whether there were any connections between Russia and the presidential campaign.
While in office, the director sparked a backlash from liberal politicians when he announced just shortly prior to the 2016 presidential election that he was investigating presidential nominee the candidate's use of a private email server. Indictments against Hillary Clinton were not pursued, causing disapproval from conservative politicians as well.
Current Allegations
The federal government claim Mr Comey lied to Congress during a congressional hearing in recent years when he was being examined about both the email probe as well as the election interference investigation. They claim he deceived the legislative body by claiming he had not authorized a person at the FBI to release to journalistic entities information about the FBI investigations.
Government lawyers also accuse Mr Comey of "wrongfully trying to sway, hinder and slow" the legislative group by providing untrue information to it.
Personal Comments
Via social media James Comey shared to his online platform after he was accused, he stated he was wrongly accused and alleged Donald Trump of behaving like a "dictator".
"We have been aware for considerable time that there are consequences to challenging Donald Trump," he stated. "We choose not to live on our knees."
"I am not guilty," he continued. "Thus initiate a court case."
The charges against the former director emerged after Donald Trump posted on digital channels insisting on his top legal official, the attorney general, take legal action against the former director and other people.
Connected Matters
- Former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey accused on pair of allegations
- The nature of charges are ex-FBI director James Comey confront?