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Sept. 25 (UPI) — Former FBI Director James Comey will be tried for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing justice amid a 2020 investigation into Russian collusion claims.
The U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia grand jury indicted Comey on two of three counts on Thursday, ABC News reported.
Interim U.S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia Lindsey Halligan secured the grand jury indictments against Comey after federal prosecutors earlier said they had no probable cause for charging the former FBI director.
Attorney General Pam Bondi lauded the indictments in a social media post on Thursday.
“Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people,” Bondi said, as reported by Axios.
“We will follow the facts in this case,” Bondi added.
The indictment comes less than a week before the statute of limitations would have expired in the matter and made it impossible to prosecute Comey for allegedly lying to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020.
The committee was investigating the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into alleged collusion between Russian officials with President Donald Trump‘s successful presidential campaign during the 2016 election.
The president accused former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert of intentionally delaying action on the matter to allow the statute of limitations to expire in the matter and fired him.
The indictment means Comey will have to appear in court for an arraignment hearing that is yet to be scheduled, where he will have to enter a plea and possibly post a bond.
He could be imprisoned for up to five years and fined if found guilty of lying to Congress and another five years and potential fines if convicted of obstruction of justice.