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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Officials said on Tuesday night that blackouts hit Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions due to network overload and lingering damage from earlier Russian strikes.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched on Tuesday through the northern Italian city of Udine ahead of Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Israel, ending their mostly peaceful rally with clashes involving police.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan that would unlock $1.2 billion in funding once approved by the Fund’s Executive Board.
Google has joined forces with the World Bank Group to develop artificial intelligence-based public digital infrastructure aimed at supporting developing markets.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
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Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
Officials said on Tuesday night that blackouts hit Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions due to network overload and lingering damage from earlier Russian strikes.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched on Tuesday through the northern Italian city of Udine ahead of Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Israel, ending their mostly peaceful rally with clashes involving police.
Cameroon opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma declared victory late on Monday in the country's 12 October presidential election, urging President Paul Biya to accept defeat and "honour the truth of the ballot box".
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan that would unlock $1.2 billion in funding once approved by the Fund’s Executive Board.
Google has joined forces with the World Bank Group to develop artificial intelligence-based public digital infrastructure aimed at supporting developing markets.
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