On Thursday night, a federal grand jury in Virginia charged former FBI Director James Comey with two criminal counts: lying to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. The indictment came just days before the statute of limitations on the charge of lying to Congress was set to expire. The grand jury declined to indict on a third count.
MSNBC previously reported on the apparent reluctance of some career prosecutors within the Eastern District of Virginia to move forward with the case. But newly installed interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan overruled their recommendation, announcing the indictment just before 7 p.m. “The charges as alleged in this case represent a breach of the public trust at an extraordinary level,” Halligan’s statement read, according to a Justice Department news release.
Comey responded via a video posted to Instagram, declaring that while his “heart was broken for the Department of Justice,” he remained confident the judicial system would prove his innocence.
Read the full indictment below:
