In a stunning turn of events that has electrified Washington and beyond, former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on September 25, 2025, by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The charges—one count of making false statements to Congress and one count of obstruction of justice—stem from his 2020 testimony about the FBI’s handling of the 2016 Russia investigation. Comey, once a towering figure in American law enforcement, now faces the prospect of up to 10 years in prison if convicted, marking a dramatic reversal for the man who fired shots across the bow of both political parties during his tenure.
The indictment, unsealed late Thursday, accuses Comey of misleading senators during a September 30, 2020, hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Specifically, prosecutors allege he falsely denied authorizing the leak of sensitive information related to the Crossfire Hurricane probe—the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into potential ties between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian interference.
One key element involves Comey’s responses to questions from then-Senator Lindsey Graham about a 2016 intelligence referral suggesting Hillary Clinton’s campaign aimed to tie Trump to Russia as a distraction from her email scandal. According to the charges, Comey obstructed justice by withholding details on how he funneled memos through a friend to the media, actions that fueled public scrutiny of Trump. The case was rushed to a grand jury under intense pressure from President Trump himself, who publicly demanded swift action against Comey and other perceived adversaries just days earlier.
Why now? The timing reeks of retribution. Trump, back in the White House for his second term, has long vilified Comey as the architect of the “Russia hoax,” blaming him for his 2017 firing and the subsequent Mueller probe that shadowed his first presidency. The indictment follows the abrupt resignation of U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert on September 19, after he reportedly balked at the weak evidence against Comey and New York AG Letitia James.
Siebert’s ouster paved the way for Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally and former defense lawyer, to take the helm and greenlight the charges despite internal DOJ memos warning of insufficient probable cause. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Trump loyalist, hailed the move as a commitment to accountability, posting on X: “No one is above the law.” Critics, including former DOJ officials, decry it as a politicized hit job, with evidence so thin it might crumble in court.
This development arrives amid a whirlwind of national controversies, raising eyebrows about whether it’s a deliberate distraction. Just two weeks ago, on September 10, conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk—founder of Turning Point USA and a key Trump surrogate—was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University. The 31-year-old activist, known for his inflammatory rhetoric on immigration, abortion, and election denialism, was gunned down in an attack that has sparked a firestorm. Trump immediately blamed “radical left” rhetoric, while allies like JD Vance launched doxxing campaigns against critics, leading to dozens of firings and suspensions nationwide for “celebratory” social media posts. The nation is still reeling, with congressional shouting matches over Kirk’s legacy and threats against schools and workplaces.
Layered on top is the festering Epstein scandal, which exploded back into headlines this month. On September 17, FBI Director Kash Patel endured a grueling five-hour House Judiciary Committee grilling over withheld Epstein files, including unsubstantiated claims of photos involving Trump and underage girls—which Patel flatly denied. The Oversight Committee released over 33,000 pages of DOJ records on September 2, revealing thousands more documents on Epstein’s sex-trafficking network that were previously buried.
Victims’ advocates and lawmakers are demanding full transparency, especially after AG Bondi’s February declassification of initial files implicated over 250 underage girls. With powerful names from both parties potentially tangled in Epstein’s web, the timing of Comey’s indictment feels suspiciously convenient—a shiny object to divert eyes from elite accountability and the raw grief over Kirk’s death.
Yet for many, this feels like a reckoning long overdue. Comey’s indictment is the culmination of years of scrutiny into Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s probe launched on July 31, 2016, based on tips about Trump adviser George Papadopoulos. What began as a legitimate counterintelligence effort devolved into a politicized mess, as detailed in the 2019 DOJ Inspector General report by Michael Horowitz.
While it cleared the investigation’s opening of bias, it exposed 17 “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in FISA applications to surveil Carter Page, including altered emails by FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith—who pleaded guilty in 2020 to falsifying records. The Durham probe, initiated by AG William Barr, further lambasted the FBI for confirmation bias and reliance on the discredited Steele dossier, though it yielded few convictions beyond Clinesmith.
Comey’s role? He greenlit the probe’s aggressive tactics, including leaks that amplified the collusion narrative—narratives Mueller’s 2019 report ultimately debunked as lacking evidence of conspiracy. Trump allies have seethed for nearly a decade, viewing Crossfire Hurricane as the original sin of “deep state” sabotage.
But Comey isn’t alone in the crosshairs. The operation involved a web of FBI agents, lawyers, and informants—tens, if not hundreds, whose roles demand scrutiny. Figures like Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, whose anti-Trump texts fueled bias allegations; Andrew McCabe, fired for leaking; and even Nellie Ohr, accused of lying to Congress about her Fusion GPS contributions to the dossier. Declassified docs from Senator Chuck Grassley in recent years prove Ohr’s perjury, yet no charges followed. Presidential memos in March 2025 declassified troves of Crossfire materials, exposing how the FBI stonewalled Congress. If justice is blind, why has only Clinesmith faced the music? A full accounting could topple careers across the bureau.
Is Comey the fall guy in this cascade? Quite possibly. As the face of the FBI during 2016, he’s the perfect scapegoat for Trump’s vengeance tour, shielding deeper institutional rot. Sources whisper that Halligan’s team ignored exculpatory memos to appease the White House, suggesting the case is DOA—a pyrrhic win for optics. Comey, ever the principled Boy Scout in his own telling, may yet walk free, protected by layers of legal armor and a judiciary wary of politicization. His memoir sales could spike, turning indictment into infamy’s goldmine. Or this could fizzle like so many Trump-era probes, another chapter in the endless distraction machine.
In the end, Comey’s fate hangs in the balance, a microcosm of America’s fractured trust in justice. As Epstein’s shadows lengthen and Kirk’s assassination scars heal unevenly, one question lingers: Will this spark real reform, or just more noise in the echo chamber? For a nation weary of scandals, the answer can’t come soon enough.
And when you reach the hair pulling stage come take a beat in the 1800s in my Substack.