enemies

The Flimsy, Risky Indictment of James Comey

A recent indictment against former FBI⁤ Director James comey centers on a claim that his 2017 testimony to Congress was false.The core of the accusation revolves around ​a statement ⁤Comey ‍made during a hearing, summarized as follows: “McCabe is saying and what you testified to this⁢ committee cannot both ⁤be true. One or the other is false. Who’s telling ⁤the truth?”

Comey responded by stating,⁢ “I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony⁢ you⁣ summarized that I gave in ⁢May of 2017.”‍ The indictment alleges this statement ⁣ was false, asserting that Comey “then and there knew” he had authorized an anonymous ⁢source – identified as “PERSON 3” – to provide information ⁤to news outlets regarding an FBI investigation concerning “PERSON 1,” widely understood ​to be Hillary clinton and related to investigations into her emails and the​ Clinton Foundation.

The case rests on a remarkably thin premise. For a statement to be criminally false, it must ‌be made “knowingly and willfully.” Any obstruction of Congress requires proof of “corrupt” intent. The evidence supporting these claims against Comey appears weak.

A 2018 report by the Justice Department’s Inspector General detailed ‍that Andrew McCabe, then Deputy Director of the FBI, authorized⁢ FBI officials to speak with​ Wall Street Journal ⁤ reporter Devlin barrett in October 2016 about the ⁣FBI’s investigation into the Clinton ⁢Foundation. Though, the Inspector General found no evidence that​ Comey participated in that authorization.Actually, the ​report⁢ suggests McCabe may have misled ⁤Comey ​regarding his‌ role in the⁢ leak after the article was published. The Inspector ⁣General concluded that “the⁣ overwhelming weight of that evidence supported comey’s version ‍of the conversation,” a finding McCabe ‌disputed.

This leaves little evidence to suggest Comey pre-approved the leak.Evidence of him blessing such action ⁣after the fact is, at best, ​contested. The prosecution’s likely key witness is McCabe, a figure repeatedly attacked‌ by former President Trump for alleged bias. ⁣Notably, the Justice​ Department attempted, and failed, to⁤ prosecute McCabe during Trump’s first‌ term over alleged misstatements⁢ to investigators.

As Benjamin Wittes and Anna Bower wrote for Lawfare prior to the indictment, “It would be quite rich, having sought and failed to charge ⁣one party to a ⁤memory dispute to ⁣turn ‌around and try to charge the other.”

While it⁢ remains a possibility the indictment references a separate ‍incident – Comey’s use of Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richman to⁤ share information with the New York ‍Times regarding President‌ Trump’s 2017 requests for a‍ loyalty pledge – this was not raised during Comey’s Senate testimony. Prosecutors recently interviewed Richman, but ‌his involvement wasn’t part of‍ the original congressional exchange.