Prosecutors are expected to ask a grand jury to indict former FBI Director James Comey in the Eastern District of Virginia in the coming days, two sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The exact charges remained unclear, and it was uncertain whether the grand jury would return an indictment against one of Trump's longtime political antagonists.
Comey served as FBI director from 2013 until Trump fired him in 2017, and Trump has since regularly assailed Comey's handling of the FBI probe into contact between Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government.
Any charges against Comey would mark the starkest example of the Trump administration using its law enforcement authority against a prominent critic - after the president promised retribution in his election campaign.
One of the sources said some prosecutors within the Eastern District of Virginia have presented new U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan with a memo explaining why charges should not be filed, saying the case lacked evidence to show probable cause that a crime was committed.
A representative for Comey declined to comment.
Trump, in a social media post on Saturday (20 September), urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring charges against Comey and other political rivals of Trump, including U.S. Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump chided Bondi for not moving fast enough to bring criminal charges against his most prominent antagonists, saying “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW.”
At least one of the potential charges being considered would accuse Comey of lying to Congress during his testimony in 2020. The statute of limitations to bring charges against Comey in connection with that testimony would expire on Tuesday.
Since Trump returned to power in January, the Justice Department has been examining Comey's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, when he addressed Republican criticisms of the Russia investigation and denied he had authorised disclosures of sensitive information to the media.
The previous U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, resigned on 19 September after Trump called for him to be removed.
Siebert, who had overseen the investigation into Comey, expressed doubts about the evidence against Comey and another Trump adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Reuters reported.
The source added that Mary “Maggie” Cleary, the second-in-charge in the office who was briefly made acting U.S. attorney until Halligan came in, has also expressed concerns about the strength of the case.
Trump replaced Siebert with Halligan, a lawyer who defended the president in civil litigation following an FBI search of his Florida residence for classified documents in 2022 and most recently served as a White House adviser.
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