Portrait of Former FBI Director James Comey on April 13, 2018 in Washington, DC, USA.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia – Former FBI Director James Comey, a longtime nemesis of President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty Oct. 8 to charges that he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional proceeding during testimony he gave more than five years ago.

Comey entered the plea through his lawyer and longtime friend, former senior Department of Justice prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, at an initial hearing in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Comey sat stone-faced, staring straight ahead, through most of the hearing. When asked to stand, he stood ramrod straight with his hands at his sides, looking directly at the judge. He didn't say a word.

"It is the honor of my life to represent Mr. Comey in this matter," Fitzgerald said.

The proceeding – which would for most other defendants be routine – took only minutes, but it jump-started a criminal process that could last months or years. The case has special significance because it has engendered widespread concern that Trump is politicizing the DOJ and using it to go after his enemies.

Comey was released without having to post bail. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 5.

Trump publicly called for Comey to be prosecuted in a Sept. 20 social media post. That same day, the president replaced a longtime prosecutor who reportedly raised concerns about the evidence with a former personal lawyer who had never prosecuted a case before. With little time to spare before the statute of limitations to indict expired, the new prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, secured an indictment from a grand jury on Sept. 25.

Comey's not guilty plea was expected. Within hours of the indictment, he posted a video statement on Instagram suggesting it was a corrupt prosecution and he vowed to fight the charges.

"My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system," Comey said. "I'm innocent, so let's have a trial and keep the faith my family and I have known for years."

What is Comey accused of?

A federal grand jury charged Comey Sept. 25 with lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

Comey is accused of lying when he testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 30, 2020, that he hadn't authorized someone at the FBI to anonymously leak information about an investigation to the media. According to the indictment, Comey had in fact authorized someone to serve as an anonymous source in news reports about the investigation, and he knew it when he testified. The name of the alleged anonymous source wasn't provided in the indictment.

The obstruction charge Comey faces is tied to the same hearing in 2020. The brief indictment – it takes up just 1.5 pages – accuses him of corruptly attempting to influence, obstruct and impede the Senate Judiciary Committee's inquiry "by making false and misleading statements."

Why did Trump want Comey indicted?

Trump and Comey have had tensions since the first year of Trump's first term as president. Comey is a longtime Republican who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 to lead the FBI after serving senior prosecutorial roles under President George W. Bush. He was still serving his 10-year term when the FBI began investigating contacts between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017. The president initially said the termination was prompted by Comey’s handling of an investigation into former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's email server, but later admitted “this Russia thing” was a factor. In the termination letter, Trump referred to the Russia-related FBI investigation, telling Comey he appreciated him "informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation," a claim Comey would later deny.

Comey no longer identifies as a Republican. He has said he believes the party began to change with the 2016 presidential campaign and continued to change with Trump in office.

Ultimately, special counsel Robert Mueller concluded there wasn't sufficient evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia.

Just five days before the indictment, with a five-year deadline for bringing charges fast approaching, Trump posted on social media that Comey was "guilty as hell" and delay was not an option.

That post, Trump's last-minute installation of Lindsey Halligan, an aide with no prosecutorial experience, who quickly sought charges against Comey, and the president's history of threatening political opponents with prosecution have fueled fears that the DOJ's independence from a vengeful White House is hastily eroding.

What comes next?

The Comey defense team said at the Oct. 8 hearing that it plans to challenge the indictment in several ways, including by arguing that Halligan wasn't validly appointed to lead the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia. If the defense team wins on one of those arguments, it may be able to get the case thrown out completely.

Fitzgerald said the defense's first substantive contact with the prosecution was on Oct. 7, and that the defense team still doesn't know who the unnamed people are who are referenced in the indictment. The indictment mentions the alleged anonymous source and someone else who was allegedly under FBI investigation.

The defense also indicated it plans to seek a dismissal of the case based on the argument that it reflects a selective and vindictive prosecution. In addition, the defense plans to argue that the case should be dismissed because there was an abuse of the grand jury process.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-FBI Director James Comey, a target of Trump, pleads not guilty, faces trial

Reporting by Josh Meyer and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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