The Daily Fuckup

James Comey was arraigned on October 8, 2025, in Alexandria and entered a not-guilty plea in federal court. The hearing began at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 600 at the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse, with Courtroom 601 set aside for overflow seating. The case had already been filed when a grand jury returned an indictment on September 25, 2025. The Justice Department says the indictment charges Comey with making a false statement and obstruction tied to his Sept. 30, 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. An indictment is an accusation, not a conviction, and Comey is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the case. ([vaed.uscourts.gov](https://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/news/notice-regarding-united-states-america-v-james-b-comey-jr-case-no-125-cr-272-msn))

The legal paperwork is straightforward; the politics are not. Former President Donald Trump has singled out Comey for years, and Trump allies have long treated the former FBI director as a symbol of the Russia investigation era. On the other side, critics of the prosecution have argued that the timing and the defendant’s profile make the case look like retaliation. Those claims are political arguments, not findings from the court record, and they remain unproven. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-former-fbi-director-false-statements-and-obstruction))

What happens next is a criminal case, not a referendum. Prosecutors will have to prove the charges in court, while Comey’s defense can challenge the government’s evidence and the way the case was brought. The public debate will keep circling the same question — whether this case would look any different if the defendant were not one of Trump’s most familiar adversaries — but that question is separate from the legal one now before the judge. ([vaed.uscourts.gov](https://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/news/notice-regarding-united-states-america-v-james-b-comey-jr-case-no-125-cr-272-msn))