Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to two counts in federal court on Wednesday (October 8) after being indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in September.

Alexandria

Former FBI Director James Comey has entered a not guilty plea in federal court to charges of lying to Congress regarding whether he authorized leaks to the press. Both Comey and prosecutors have agreed to waive speedy trial rights, placing the case on a slower track due to complexities such as the possible involvement of classified information.

The indictment, which is brief and provides limited detail, relates to Comey's testimony before Congress five years ago, just before the statute of limitations expired. Comey has requested a jury trial, and the proceedings are expected to take several months. His defense is led by high-profile attorney Pat Fitzgerald, while the prosecution is being handled by Lindsey Halligan in her first role as a prosecutor.

James Comey pleads not guilty to charges brought by Trump's DOJ

James Comey has just pleaded not guilty here at federal court in Alexandria. They are going to put this case immediately on a slow track. Comey and the prosecutors here are going to waive speedy trial rights. There are a number of complications here, including the fact that classified information might be involved. So we have a not guilty plea as expected, but everything now goes into a slower lane. And I expect we're going to measure this case in a matter of months, not in days or weeks, even though, as Caroline said, we are in the rocket docket, the fastest moving federal court in America, the Eastern District of Virginia. Noting this, Comey's attorney is uniquely high profile, Pat Fitzgerald, who has had a number of high profile defendants, including in this courthouse, is also the former U.S. attorney in Chicago. This is a high octane defense team going against Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney who, oh, by the way, is in her first ever role as a prosecutor. All right, Scott, before I go back to Caroline, I just want to ask you a question, having covered Capitol Hill and now justice in Washington. These charges of lying to Congress, and they have to do with questions that the former FBI director James Comey was asked while he was testifying before Congress about authorizing leaks to the press. Now, we know, you know, that there were leaks to the press. But the question, of course, is, did he authorize it? He said he had not. But even if for the five years up until the statute of limitations ended, he had not been indicted, it's still kind of a pretty serious charge. And it could, I mean, there is a possibility where someone might say, yes, the director of the FBI authorized me to talk to the press. Is that not out of the realm of possibility? We know there's a nexus, Vlad, of this case and the testimony he gave in 2020. We know that in part because the charging document, though thin, alludes to a statement Comey made to Congress. And we know it happened five years ago because they ran right up against a deadline of five years statute of limitations to file these charges. As I speak to you, I'm looking through the notes of our reporter in the courtroom who thankfully has uniquely good handwriting. And we can get a little more of a readout of what actually happened in court today. James Comey did speak when the charges were read. He said back to the judge, I went asked if he understands what's happening here. Comey said, I do, your honor. Thank you very much. And that his defense counsel did, in fact, review the indictment, which is a small document so far, just a page and a half, very limited detail in the charging document. Looks like we didn't get any more detail of what the U.S. Department of Justice is alleging here. The not guilty plea has been entered. James Comey, just as expected, as he said in his social media video a few days ago, has requested a jury trial. The charges have been formally read. And on brand for this courthouse, Vlad, as Caroline alluded to, they move fast. This thing started early. They began the arraignment five minutes before it was scheduled.

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