On November 17, 2025, the Trump-era Justice Department revealed in court filings that it will use ex-FBI Director James Comey's alleged false denial of recalling a 2016 CIA referral memo about Hillary Clinton's campaign plan to link Donald Trump to Russia as evidence to support its successful two-count indictment against him for obstructing Congress and making false statements. The grand jury in September 2025 approved charges related to Comey's 2020 Senate testimony but rejected a third count specifically on the "Clinton Plan" denial, yet prosecutors under Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan (a former Trump lawyer) argue it bolsters the obstruction charge.
Background and Indictment Details
Approved Counts:
False Statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2)): Comey allegedly lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020 by denying he authorized FBI friend and special government employee Dan Richman to leak details of the FBI's Clinton email investigation to the media (contradicting his May 2017 denial).
Obstruction of Congress (18 U.S.C. § 1505): Comey is accused of corruptly impeding the Senate's inquiry through misleading statements, now including his "lack of memory" claims to Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) about the CIA referral—despite evidence he was briefed by then-CIA Director John Brennan in August 2016 and received the formal memo on September 7, 2016.
Rejected Count: The grand jury (foreperson's note: "12 or more did not concur") declined to indict on a separate false-statement charge for Comey's testimony that he "did not remember" the referral, which detailed Clinton's alleged July 26, 2016, approval of a scheme to vilify Trump via Russia ties as a distraction from her private email scandal.
Key Evidence and Revelations
Newly Discovered Documents: In a recent FBI "management review," agents found the long-missing CIA referral memo (dated Sept. 7, 2016) in a storage closet near Comey's old office, plus his handwritten notes from September 2016 explicitly referencing the "HRC [Clinton] plan to tie Trump." These were inside a locked safe in Room 9582 and unknown to prior probes like Special Counsel John Durham's 2023 report.
Comey's 2020 Testimony: Under questioning by Graham and Hawley, Comey repeatedly said the referral "doesn't ring any bells" and "doesn't sound familiar," despite Durham's findings that it was briefed to him, Obama, Biden, and others. The memo highlighted Clinton's distraction tactic involving "Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections."
Broader Context from Durham Report:
The intelligence originated from late July 2016 and was shared via a CIA "fusion cell" with the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane team (Trump-Russia probe), but key FBI officials (e.g., Supervisory Special Agent Joe Pientka, General Counsel James Baker) were deliberately not informed, leading to "surprise and dismay" when Durham revealed it.
FBI analyst Brian Auten was briefed September 2, 2016, and requested the formal memo, which the CIA sent to Comey and Peter Strzok (later fired for anti-Trump bias).
Despite awareness of potential Clinton campaign origins or Russian disinformation, the FBI dismissed it without investigation while aggressively pursuing Trump-related leads, including the discredited Steele Dossier.
Clinton Campaign's Role in "Russiagate"
The article ties this to a coordinated 2016 Clinton effort (involving Marc Elias, Robby Mook, John Podesta, Jennifer Palmieri, Jake Sullivan) to smear Trump as Putin's puppet via media, speeches, the Steele Dossier (funneled through Fusion GPS), and Alfa Bank claims—succeeding in shaping public narrative.
Additional intel: A January 2016 memo alleged Obama planned to hinder the Clinton email probe; a March 2016 memo claimed Democratic efforts to fabricate Trump-Russia mafia ties.
Mike Morell (ex-acting CIA director, co-author of the 2020 Hunter Biden laptop suppression letter) amplified the "Trump as Putin agent" trope.
Comey's Defense and Next Steps
Comey (fired by Trump in 2017) pleaded not guilty in October 2025, calling the indictment a "broken" DOJ and demanding a trial: "I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial." He seeks to disqualify Halligan and dismiss charges; his lawyer is ex-DOJ prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
Trial set for January 2026. Related probes continue: Subpoenas issued for Russiagate figures; revelations include Comey's expectation of a Clinton win, hidden Crossfire Hurricane docs in "burn bags," and Richman's leaks violating FBI rules.
The piece frames this as accountability for Comey's role in politicized probes into Clinton's emails and the "baseless" Trump-Russia collusion, contrasting it with the ignored Clinton Plan intel that could have reframed the entire scandal.
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