By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — In 2017, President Donald Trump shattered norms by firing James Comey as director of the FBI, which was investigating his campaign. Wednesday, Comey is set to be arraigned on criminal charges Trump has sought as part of a political vendetta.

Comey will appear before a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday on charges of providing false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He could face a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.

The charges stem from Comey’s 2020 congressional testimony, where he allegedly lied about his knowledge of a leak of classified information that was later reported by several news outlets.

Comey had testified that “he had not authorized someone else to be an anonymous source in news reports,” the indictment said. “That statement was false.”

Trump summarily fired Comey in the first few months of his first term over the FBI’s investigation into Russian election meddling in the 2016 presidential election. In a social media post addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi in September, the president openly called for the Justice Department to go after several of his political foes, including Comey.

“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote to Bondi in the social media post. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

Comey is expected to enter a plea during Wednesday’s hearing, and the schedule and date for a trial in the matter – which the former director has called for – could be set by the presiding judge.

“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I’m innocent,” Comey said in a video message following his indictment late last month.

The former director added: “Let’s have a trial. And keep the faith.”

Securing the indictment against Comey proved difficult for the Justice Department, and one interim US Attorney resigned following continued pressure to bring criminal charges against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Trump enemies.

Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide who has never been a prosecutor, as the Eastern District of Virginia’s interim US Attorney just three days before she would present the case against Comey to a grand jury.

Halligan successfully secured two of the three charges the Justice Department sought against Comey and has also procured the help of two federal prosecutors from North Carolina to join the case: Nathaniel Tyler Lemons and Gabriel Diaz.

Earlier this year, Comey was briefly investigated – and was even brought into the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office for questioning – after posting a picture of seashells on a beach writing out the numbers “86 47.”

The number 86 can refer to getting rid of or tossing something out (in some cases through death or violent means), while 47 corresponds to Trump’s current term in office as the 47th president. The charges against Comey are unrelated to the social media post.

Challenges in the case ahead

While prosecutors secured the indictment against Comey, the road ahead could prove difficult as they will likely be forced to defend against Trump’s own fiery statements about Comey and how they could be used to argue the prosecution was born out of political and personal bias.

Trump’s own attorneys used that same argument in the federal cases brought against the then-former president by special counsel Jack Smith in 2023.

Halligan’s appointment, too, could be called into question by Comey’s defense team. As some in Republican legal circles have noted, an interim US Attorney in the Eastern District had already served the 120-day limit imposed on those not confirmed by the Senate, so her appointment may be invalid.

The-CNN-Wire
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