Prosecutors defend indictment in Comey case after defense questions
Prosecutors defended how they presented the criminal case against former FBI boss James Comey to a grand jury after defense attorneys said the indictment failed to meet legal standards.
Defense attorneys had not filed a motion to challenge the indictment as of Thursday morning, but made it clear in court Wednesday they didn’t think it would pass scrutiny.
Michael Dreeben, an attorney for Comey, said: “There is no indictment.”
He also said the statute of limitations for the charges expired Sept. 30, making the claimed misstep “tantamount to a complete bar” on the prosecution.
In September, federal prosecutors alleged that Comey lied to Congress when he denied claims that he leaked classified documents to a news outlet over the Trump-Russia election interference hoax investigation. The two-page indictment charged Comey with making false statements to Congress and obstruction of justice related to leaked documents to The New York Times.
In a filing late Wednesday, prosecutors defended their handling of the grand jury.
“The record shows that a duly constituted grand jury considered the presented indictment and returned a true bill as to only Counts Two and Three,” Assistant United States Attorney N. Tyler Lemons wrote. “Considering Gaither and controlling Supreme Court and Fourth Circuit precedent, the government course of conduct here was permissible and proper.”
Comey’s defense also argued that the charges against the former FBI boss were the result of selective or vindictive prosecution. That can be a high bar to prove. President Donald Trump tried the same thing in several of the case filed against him in the run up to the 2024 election. Trump was convicted in New York, but three other cases against him stalled or were dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee, ordered both sides to provide him with answers to how the case should proceed.
The defense had not responded as of Thursday morning.
Mostly Sunny
Latest News Stories
Exclusive: BlackRock pressured ‘woke’ ideology on companies
Trump’s tariffs on imported drugs could raise prices
Lawmaker responds to IL’s push for adult COVID shots against CDC guidance
Immigration advocates sue Trump administration over ‘unlawful’ ICE arrests
18% of med schools receive F when judged by academic excellence, DEI rejection
Plastics industry one of ‘most powerful economic engines’ thanks to nation’s shale gas, ingenuity
Congressional candidate defends ‘dark humor’ video about Kirk assassination
Trump tells parents to get vaccines not available in U.S.
Grocery tax stalls in Chicago council, measure approved in Bloomington
GOP leader argues against Democrats’ descriptions of ICE
Illinois quick hits: Guatemalan national guilty of illegal presence; ‘peacekeeper’ arrested for battery
Lake Land College Formalizes Academic Restructuring with Faculty Association MOU
