前美国联邦调查局导演詹姆斯·科米周三对两项指控不认罪联邦起诉书他的律师表示，他们将寻求以报复和选择性起诉为由驳回此案。
9月25日，一个联邦大陪审团起诉了科米，就在唐纳德·特朗普总统之后几天公开要求司法部长帕姆·邦迪和司法部“现在”对科米和其他政治对手采取行动。
科米被控一项虚假陈述和一项妨碍国会诉讼的罪名，与他2020年在参议院司法委员会的证词有关。
认罪是由他的律师帕特里克·菲茨杰拉德提出的，他要求陪审团审判。
法官宣读了指控，并表示他们将面临最高五年的监禁和25万美元的罚款。
他问科米是否明白这些指控，他回答说，“我明白，法官大人。”
审判日期定在1月5日。
法官问政府预计审判会持续多久，政府说2-3天。
法官说他准备进行快速审判。政府称此案“复杂”，但似乎并未反对庭审日期。
“这似乎不是一个复杂的案件，”法官说。
菲茨杰拉德表示同意，他说，“我们认为这是一个简单的案例。”
科米长期以来一直是特朗普批评他调查俄罗斯的干涉在2016年的选举中。特朗普周一在椭圆形办公室对记者说，科米是一名“脏警察”，并声称这是一个“简单的案件”。
但是科米事件已经把弗吉尼亚州东区的美国检察官办公室陷入混乱据消息人士称。前任联邦检察官埃里克·西伯特，迫于压力辞职特朗普政府对科米和纽约司法部长莱蒂夏·詹姆斯提起刑事指控。特朗普说他解雇了西伯特。
特朗普随后精心挑选了白宫助手兼前辩护律师哈利根取代西伯特并领导该办公室。美国广播公司新闻报道，尽管检察官和调查人员声称没有足够的证据指控他，但哈利根还是向大陪审团提交了科米案据报告的当时。
科米的律师周三告诉法官，他们计划提交一份动议，质疑哈利根任命的合法性，但这将由美国第四巡回上诉法院首席法官任命的另一名法官审理。
法官周三指示政府在11月3日之前对这些动议做出回应，并指示辩方在11月10日之前做出回应。法官说，他希望案件在11月19日之前得到完整的简报，并说听证会将计划在11月19日和12月9日举行。
口头辩论将于12月9日举行，对辩方的动议驳回，因为大陪审团滥用，“令人愤慨的政府行为”和其他动议科米的律师没有透露。
辩方和法官都表达了一些困惑，为什么政府说会有大量的机密信息涉及此案。
菲茨杰拉德曾一度表示，他认为政府应该在提起诉讼之前，利用机密信息解决这个问题。菲茨杰拉德说，这似乎是“本末倒置”。
法官说，不应该因为机密信息而使案件偏离轨道。
“我们将经历你一生中见过的最快的CIPA程序，”他开玩笑说，指的是围绕涉及机密信息的案件发生的诉讼。
法官还说，对于政府向被告出示证据的义务，“我不会拖慢这个案子”。
科米自上个月被起诉以来首次于周三出庭，菲茨杰拉德和律师大卫凯利和杰西卡卡尔迈克尔在弗吉尼亚州亚历山大的法庭上与他一起出庭。
代表政府的是Halligan和北卡罗来纳州东区检察官Nathaniel "Tyler" Lemons。在周三的传讯之前，司法部增加了两名助理检察官来自其他州去调查这个案子。
科米的妻子和他的女儿，莫林·科米有人看到他在诉讼开始前到达亚历山大法院。
科米否认有任何不当行为，并表示他期待审判。
Comey pleads not guilty, will look to dismiss case for vindictive prosecution
Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday to both counts in afederal indictment, and his attorneys said they will seek to have the case dismissed for vindictive and selective prosecution.
A federal grand jury indicted Comey on Sept. 25, just days after President Donald Trumppublicly demandedAttorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department act "now" against Comey and other political opponents.
Comey is charged with one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding, related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020.
The plea was entered by his attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who asked for a jury trial.
The judge read the charges and said they carry a penalty of up to five years in prison with a $250,000 fine.
He asked if Comey understood the charges, and he replied, "I do, Your Honor."
A trial date was set for Jan. 5.
The judge asked how long the government anticipated the trial lasting, and the government said 2-3 days.
The judge said that he was prepared to move forward with a speedy trial. The government said the case was "complicated," but didn't appear to object to the trial date in court.
"This doesn't appear to be a complicated case," the judge said.
Fitzgerald agreed, saying, "We see this as a simple case."
Comey has been a longtime target of Trump's criticism over his investigation intoRussian interferencein the 2016 election. Trump on Monday, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, called Comey a "dirty cop" and claimed it was a "simple case."
But the Comey matter has thrown the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginiainto turmoil, according to sources. The previous U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert,resigned over pressurefrom the Trump administration to bring criminal charges against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump said he fired Siebert.
Trump then handpicked Halligan, a White House aide and his former defense attorney, to replace Siebert and lead the office. Halligan presented the Comey case to the grand jury, despite prosecutors and investigators allegedly determining there was insufficient evidence to charge him, ABC Newsreportedat the time.
Comey's attorneys told the judge Wednesday they plan to file a motion challenging the lawfulness of Halligan's appointment, but that will be heard by a different judge appointed by the chief judge of 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge on Wednesday instructed the government to respond to those motions by Nov. 3 and directed the defense to respond by Nov. 10. The judge said he wants the case to be fully briefed by Nov. 19 and said hearings will be planned for Nov. 19 and Dec. 9.
Oral arguments will be held Dec. 9 on the defense's motion to dismiss because of grand jury abuse, "outrageous government conduct" and other motions Comey's attorneys did not disclose.
Both the defense and the judge expressed some confusion as to why the government said there would be a substantial amount of classified information involved in the case.
At one point Fitzgerald said that he believed the government should have figured out the issue with classified information before bringing the case. It appears the "cart has been put before the horse," Fitzgerald said.
The judge said there should be no reason the case gets off track because of classified information.
"We will go through the fastest CIPA process you have ever seen in your life," he joked, referring to the litigation that occurs around cases involving classified information.
The judge also said, "I will not slow this case down" over the government's obligations to produce discovery to the defense.
Comey was in court Wednesday for the first time since he was indicted last month, where he was joined inside the Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom by Fitzgerald and attorneys David Kelley and Jessica Carmichael.
The government was represented by Halligan and Nathaniel "Tyler" Lemons, a prosecutor from the Eastern District of North Carolina.Ahead of Wednesday's arraignment, the Department of Justice added two assistant U.S. attorneysfrom out of stateto work on the case.
Comey's wife and his daughter,Maureen Comey, were seen arriving at the Alexandria courthouse ahead of the proceeding.
Comey has denied any wrongdoing and has said he looks forward to a trial.
