Former FBI Director James Comey issued a video assertion on Instagram shortly after Lawyer Common Pam Bondi introduced his indictment by a federal grand jury on one depend of creating false statements and one depend of obstruction of justice.
“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” he mentioned within the video. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant and she’s right, but I’m not afraid and I hope you’re not either.”
Comey continued, “I hope instead you are engaged, you are paying attention and you will vote like your beloved country depends upon it, which it does.”
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial,” Comey concluded. “And keep the faith.”
AP Photograph/Charles Krupa, File
Comey’s indictment follows Trump’s stress marketing campaign on Bondi, whom he explicitly urged to take motion in opposition to the previous chief of the FBI. In a Fact Social assertion this weekend, Trump additionally referred to as on Bondi to analyze others who’ve beforehand regarded into his conduct, together with Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and New York Lawyer Common Letitia James.
The Justice Division’s resolution to pursue fees in opposition to Comey marks a stark escalation in how the physique helps Trump search punishment in opposition to his political enemies. Comey has been a frequent goal for the president, given his open criticism of the administration and previous work on an FBI inquiry scrutinizing ties between Trump’s 2016 marketing campaign and Russia.
Maurene Comey, the daughter of James Comey and a former federal prosecutor, has additionally alleged that she was fired from her place earlier this year due to who her father is.
Minutes after the indictment was introduced on Thursday, Comey’s son-in-law, Troy Edwards, resigned his position as a federal prosecutor, citing a necessity “to uphold my oath to the Constitution and the country.”
