Former FBI Director James Comey moved to dismiss the two criminal counts against him on Thursday due to the ambiguity of the facts and the “literal truth” of his responses.
The new motion adds to those Comey filed last week arguing that prosecuting attorney Lindsey Halligan was not legitimately appointed and that her charges represent an abuse of power.
The former FBI director — who became an enemy of President Donald Trump early in his first term — has pleaded not guilty.
Halligan filed the charges in September, alleging that Comey lied to Congress in 2020, just before a five-year statute of limitations was set to run out. Trump had urged his Justice Department to prosecute Comey, along with several other political nemeses.
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In the 2020 testimony, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) asked Comey about previous testimony he gave in 2017, when he answered questions from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) about media leaks. Comey had said he did not leak information about FBI investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, or authorize anyone else to do so. He then stood by his responses three years later.
In his new filing, Comey says that Cruz’s line of questioning was “fundamentally ambiguous” and that Comey had told the “literal truth” in response.
“Fundamental to any false statement charge are both clear questions and false answers. Neither exists here,” read the motion to dismiss the case. It also pointed out that Cruz mischaracterized statements made by another former FBI official in his questioning.
Comey went on to argue that the second count against him failed to state, specifically, “which ‘false and misleading statements’ Mr. Comey allegedly made, why they were allegedly false or misleading, or even which investigation he allegedly endeavored to corrupt.”
He said both counts should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning the Trump administration could not bring them again.
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