James Comey Seeks Dismissal of Indictment

Former FBI Director James Comey is asking for his indictment to be thrown out on the grounds that he responded to “fundamentally ambiguous questions with literally true answers.”

Comey is facing accusations of lying to Congress during his September 2020 testimony. He allegedly stated that he had not authorized anyone at the FBI to act as an anonymous source for news stories related to the investigation into Hillary Clinton, as well as obstructing a Congressional inquiry.

In a motion filed on Thursday, Comey’s legal team pointed out that the indictment fails to include the lengthy and confusing questions that led to his testimony. They argue this omission is significant.

During the 2020 hearing, Texas Senator Ted Cruz pressed Comey about prior testimony from 2017. He asked Comey if his statement—that he never authorized anyone to be an anonymous source—still stood given his deputy Andrew McCabe’s assertion that he had leaked information to The Wall Street Journal with Comey’s awareness.

Cruz pointedly remarked, “Now, what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to… cannot both be true; one or the other is false. Who’s telling the truth?”

Comey maintained his stance. Cruz followed up, confirming, “So, your testimony is you’ve never authorized anyone to leak,” and reiterated that if McCabe claimed otherwise, then he was not being truthful. Comey responded that he wouldn’t “characterize Andy’s testimony, but mine is the same today.”

Comey’s lawyers contended that Cruz’s questions were fundamentally ambiguous, suggesting that a reasonable person might assume Cruz was asking only if Comey had authorized McCabe specifically, rather than broadly questioning his interactions with anyone at the FBI.

Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, mentioned in the indictment, was hired by Comey as a “Special Government Employee” and had Top Secret clearance, according to FBI memos released in August. Richman was also described as a media liaison for Comey.

The motion argues that, based on a reasonable understanding of the situation, the indictment does not allege that Comey’s answers were false. It claims that the context provided by Cruz’s statements about McCabe is essential to fully understanding both the questions and Comey’s replies.

In a separate request filed on the same day, Comey urged the government to submit a “bill of particulars” to clarify the indictment. He pointed out that the government has not given specifics on when or how he allegedly authorized Richman to be an “anonymous source,” nor which news reports he was supposedly authorized for.