Comey will seek to dismiss case as vindictive prosecution

A protester carries a sign on Wednesday morning, Oct. 8, 2025, outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., where former FBI Director James Comey was to be arraigned on charges of lying to Congress five years ago. The case against Comey was deemed too thin by a previous federal prosecutor, who quit under pressure from President Donald Trump. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

By GLENN THRUSH

James Comey, the former FBI director reviled by President Donald Trump and targeted as part of his retribution campaign, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday morning in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

The judge overseeing the hearing set a trial date for Jan. 5. But Comey’s lead lawyer, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, said he intended to file motions to dismiss the case before then, including one accusing the government of vindictive and selective prosecution based on Trump’s public demand that Comey be prosecuted.

Fitzgerald, a former federal prosecutor, also said the Justice Department’s rush to charge Comey had left his defense team unclear about the specifics of the counts he is facing. Comey was indicted last month in a two-page filing that offered almost no details on the accusations.

“We still have not been told who Person 3 and Person 1 are,” Fitzgerald said, referring to the indictment. He later added: “We still haven’t been told precisely what is in count 1 or count 2.”

Comey faces one count of making a false statement and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding in connection with his testimony before a Senate committee in September 2020. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted, though many current and former prosecutors believe the case will be difficult to prove.

Here’s what else to know:

— Routine proceeding: Comey’s plea and request for a jury trial were entered in a brief appearance before Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff. Nachmanoff said he was “a little skeptical” about prosecutors’ insinuations that the case was complex enough to require extra time. “This does not appear to me to be an overly complicated case,” he said.

— Bitter history: The case against Comey, who ordered the investigation into the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia in 2016, is the most significant legal action taken against people Trump has publicly targeted. His indictment came shortly after the president all but commanded his attorney general to take legal action against Comey; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

— Rocky path: The case against Comey proceeded over the opposition of prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia. The prosecutor who ultimately handled it was Lindsey Halligan, a White House lawyer hastily installed by Trump as U.S. attorney after her predecessor found insufficient evidence to support an indictment.

— The defense: Comey’s defense is being led by Fitzgerald, who was once a prominent federal law enforcement official. As a federal prosecutor in New York and then Chicago, Fitzgerald played major roles in several important terrorism cases and successfully prosecuted two former governors of Illinois, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich, in corruption cases.

— President’s impact: Vindictive prosecution motions are notoriously difficult to win, but Trump’s voluble vitriol and his repeated attacks on his former FBI director could provide Comey’s defense with an avenue to protect him.