by EuroNews with AP
It’s published
Former FBI director James Comey has been charged with two charges related to a statement made during his 2020 testimony to Congress.
The former FBI director was accused of making false statements and obstruction in a criminal case filed days later after President Donald Trump was urged to urge the Attorney General to indict Comey and other perceived political enemies.
Prosecutors have evaluated whether Comey lied to lawmakers during testimony related to an investigation into the relationship between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign on September 30, 2020.
The indictment was filed to take steps to help the White House take influence in the operations of the Department of Justice in an unprecedented way, blurring the line between institutional law and politics, where independence in prosecutors’ decisions is the fundamental principle.
The indictment will make Comey the first high-ranking official involved in a long-linked investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, one of Trump’s major complaints, and face charges. For years, Trump debated his search as a “hooger” and “witch hunt,” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow intervened on behalf of the Republican campaign, clarifying his desire for retaliation.
The criminal case has been weaponized under Attorney General Pam Bondy in pursuit of investigations and is likely to strongly deepen the prosecution of public figures the president now considers as his political enemy.
Trump on Thursday welcomed the charges as “American Justice!” Trump’s loyalist Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel, a longtime voice critic of Russia’s investigation, issued a similar statement. “No one is beyond the law,” Bondy said.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal justice system. I am innocent,” Comey said in a video he posted after the indictment.
Comey was fired in Trump’s first administration for several months and has since remained the highest goal for Trump supporters seeking retaliation related to the Russian investigation. He was selected by name on a social media post on Saturday. There, Trump appears to be directly suing Bondi, bringing accusations against Comey and complaining that the Justice Department investigation into his enemy did not result in a criminal case.
“We can’t delay it anymore. It kills our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote, referring to the fact that he himself was charged and was fired up multiple times. “Justice must be provided, now!!!”
The prolonged anger over Russian investigation
Trump has long been opposed to both the US intelligence agency that Russia favored him for Democrat Clinton in the 2016 election, and both criminal investigations that tried to determine whether his campaign would shake up Moscow and its race outcomes.
Prosecutors led by special advisor Robert Mueller did not establish that Trump or his associates had criminally conspiracy with Russia, but they found that Trump’s campaign welcomed Moscow’s support.
The indictment came against the backdrop of the efforts of the Russian regime as a growth in efforts under President Barack Obama to show off his interference in the election and undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s victory.
