In the United States of America, former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey has been indicted on two criminal charges. He is accused of providing false testimony to Congress and obstruction of justice.
Comey’s prosecution was repeatedly called for by US President Donald Trump, after the announcement of the charges, he publicly expressed his approval of such a move.
Comey became the first former FBI director to be charged with a crime. Comey oversaw the investigation into the Trump team’s possible ties to Russia, among other things.
The charges stem from testimony he gave at a 2020 Senate hearing on possible Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
Comey said at the time that he had not instructed anyone to release data to the press about the investigation under the guise of an anonymous source. Subsequently, there was some evidence that the information was passed to the press with his knowledge.
Comey lost his post shortly after Trump was elected to his first term in 2017. Since then, Comey and Trump have sharply criticised each other, with Trump accusing Comey of colluding with his Democratic opponents, while the former FBI director has spoken of being a victim of political persecution and accused Trump of authoritarianism.
Comey faces up to five years in prison on the charges, although in practice, as a rule, in such cases, real terms are not appointed in such cases.
Comey himself declared his innocence and noted that he believes in the impartiality of the court.
Trump’s opponents accuse him of pressuring the Justice Department, which acts as a prosecuting party. A few days ago, the President published a post in the social network Truth Social with a call to bring Comey and a number of other people to justice.