The Justice Department is considering seeking a criminal indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, for allegedly making false statements to Congress, according to multiple outlets.
The investigation into Comey is reportedly focused on whether he lied during congressional testimony he delivered on Sept. 30, 2020, related to the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion investigation, Fox News reported on Wednesday.
The statute of limitations on bringing perjury charges is five years, so federal prosecutors would have until next Tuesday to indict Comey.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia is handling the case.
“There is a grand jury underway looking at the matter in Virginia. A decision could come any day,” a source told Fox News.
The extent of the charges Comey could face, and the part of his testimony under scrutiny, is unclear.
President Trump announced last week that he “fired” the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, over the “UNUSUALLY STRONG support” he had received from Democratic senators.
Siebert, who claimed he resigned, had reportedly been under pressure from the Trump administration to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James related to mortgage fraud allegations.
Trump has nominated White House aide Lindsey Halligan to replace Siebert, who had yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
Comey, 64, was fired by Trump in 2017, during the president’s first term in the White House.
The former FBI director, who has become an outspoken Trump critic, launched an investigation into allegations of collusion between the Russian government and Trump’s presidential campaign in July of 2016, dubbed “Crossfire Hurricane.”
Trump, who was never charged with a crime related to the probe, has long blasted the investigation as a “witch hunt” and “hoax.”
On Saturday, in a since-deleted Truth Social post directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi, the president fumed that the DOJ was taking too long to bring charges against Comey and other political adversaries.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,’” Trump wrote.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” he added. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Trump later told reporters that he wasn’t upset with Bondi but wanted the DOJ to “to act.”
“I just want people to act. They have to act. But now we want to act fast. You know, they were ruthless and vicious. I was impeached twice. I was indicted,” he said, when asked about the deleted post.
“We have to act fast. If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty or if they should be judged, they should be charged. And we have to do it now.”
