House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) slammed the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey as a “disgraceful attack on the rule of law” and argued that the criminal justice system has been “viciously weaponized” by the Trump administration.  

“The indictment of James Comey is a disgraceful attack on the rule of law. Donald Trump and his sycophants in the Department of Justice [DOJ] are completely and totally out of control, and have viciously weaponized the criminal justice system against their perceived adversaries,” Jeffries said in a Thursday night statement. 

“The malicious prosecution against James Comey has no apparent basis in law or fact, and lawyers of good conscience in the department know it,” the House minority leader added. “Anyone complicit in this malignant corruption will face accountability.” 

Comey was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding in relation to his testimony before the Senate in 2020. The indictment, brought by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, came days after President Trump called for the prosecution of his political foes. Comey could faced up to five years in prison, according to the office.

The president celebrated the indictment of Comey, a longtime critic of the president. 

“JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI,” Trump wrote Thursday night on Truth Social. 

Comey, in response, proclaimed his innocence, adding that he is not “afraid.” 

“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system. And I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial,” the ex-FBI director said in an Instagram video.

Comey is alleged to have obstructed Congress by lying to a Senate committee in 2020 while being questioned about probes into Trump in 2016, according to the indictment. 

“Comey stated that he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment that statement was false,” the DOJ said on Thursday. 

The indictment came days after Erik Siebert, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, stepped down from his post instead of bringing charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). Siebert reportedly found that there was not enough evidence to back up allegations of mortgage fraud against James. 

Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former defense lawyer, was selected as the interim replacement for Siebert. Halligan, who practiced insurance law and has not tried a federal case, signed the indictment against Comey.