Washington — Former FBI Director James Comey is urging a federal court docket to dismiss the 2 federal costs introduced towards him over allegedly false testimony he gave to Congress in September 2020. He is arguing that the questions he answered, which have been requested by GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, have been “complicated” and “basically ambiguous.”
In a new filing with the court docket in Alexandria, Virginia, Comey’s attorneys argued that his testimony in response to Cruz’s questions was “actually true” and can’t help a conviction. The previous FBI director’s authorized staff recommended that the federal government is making an attempt to attempt Comey on “cherry-picked statements” given throughout a four-hour lengthy Senate listening to with out specifying which components of his testimony it believes have been false or deceptive.
They argued that whereas the federal government has the authority to prosecute witnesses who mislead federal investigators by giving false solutions to clear questions, “it doesn’t authorize the federal government to create confusion by posing an imprecise query after which search to take advantage of that confusion by putting an after-the-fact nefarious interpretation on the following benign reply.”
Comey’s attorneys additionally asserted that “fundamental due course of rules in felony legislation require that the questioner body his questions with readability so {that a} witness doesn’t need to guess.”
A federal grand jury in Alexandria indicted Comey late final month on costs he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional investigation. The alleged offenses stem from testimony Comey gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020. He has pleaded not guilty to each counts.
Comey has already filed one tranche of motions with the court docket that argue the indictment needs to be tossed out on the grounds that it’s primarily based on a vindictive and selective prosecution. He’s additionally difficult the validity of interim U.S. Legal professional Lindsey Halligan‘s appointment to that position.
Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, stated in a type of filings that he would search to dismiss no less than the primary rely of the indictment — the allegation that Comey lied to Congress — due to Cruz’s questioning.
Along with his newest bid to have the fees dismissed, Comey’s attorneys are asking for more details concerning the conduct underlying the 2 counts. They’re claiming the indictment is “sparse” and has a “whole absence of factual allegations.”
The indictment towards Comey references an change the previous FBI director had with an unnamed senator, believed to be Cruz, in the course of the Judiciary Committee listening to greater than 5 years in the past. Throughout the questioning, Cruz requested Comey about testimony he gave in Could 2017, by which the previous FBI chief was questioned about whether or not he had ever been an nameless supply or licensed anybody to be an nameless supply about issues referring to investigations into President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016.
Cruz then referenced feedback from Andrew McCabe, who was Comey’s deputy on the FBI, and claimed McCabe publicly stated that Comey licensed him to leak data to the press.
“Now, what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee can not each be true; one or the opposite is fake. Who’s telling the reality?” Cruz requested Comey.
Comey stated in response, “I can solely converse to my testimony. I stand by what, the testimony you summarized that I gave in Could of 2017.”
Cruz reiterated that Comey was testifying that he “by no means licensed to leak. And Mr. McCabe when if he says opposite shouldn’t be telling the reality, is that appropriate?”
“Once more, I am not going to characterize Andy’s testimony, however mine is identical at present,” Comey replied.
However prosecutors have claimed that Comey’s testimony was false as a result of he licensed Daniel Richman, a longtime good friend of his, to function an nameless supply in information experiences concerning the FBI investigation involving Clinton.
The federal government confirmed to Comey’s attorneys that an unidentified particular person known as “Particular person 3” within the indictment is Richman. A Columbia College legislation professor, Richman is a former federal prosecutor who additionally served as a “special government employee” on the FBI when Comey was director.
Richman has not been charged with any wrongdoing. His identify additionally didn’t come up within the change that seems to have led to the fees towards Comey.
Of their bid to have the indictment dismissed, Comey’s attorneys stated that any false-statements cost that rests on an interpretation of a “basically ambiguous query” should be dismissed.
“Basic to any false assertion cost are each clear questions and false solutions,” they wrote. “Neither exists right here.”
Comey’s attorneys argued {that a} “affordable particular person” would’ve interpreted Cruz to be asking solely about whether or not the previous FBI chief had licensed McCabe to be an nameless supply, relatively than broadly inquiring about Comey’s interactions with anybody on the FBI.
“The indictment comprises no allegations that Mr. Comey’s solutions have been false: it by no means alleges that Mr. Comey made a false assertion concerning Mr. McCabe,” they wrote. “Quite the opposite, the indictment omits Senator Cruz’s statements about Mr. McCabe, obscuring the context needed to know each the questions themselves and Mr. Comey’s responses.”
Comey’s authorized staff reiterated that he maintains that his 2017 testimony was truthful, however was additionally argued that his “assertion that he stood by his prior testimony was truthful no matter whether or not that prior testimony was itself truthful.”
