House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday defended the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, dismissing concerns that President Donald Trump improperly pressured the Justice Department to pursue political opponents.
Johnson, a constitutional lawyer, said Comey’s alleged false statements to Congress amounted to perjury, a charge brought by a grand jury.
“James Comey lied to Congress,” the Louisiana Republican told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “A nonpartisan, nonbiased grand jury looked at the charges, and they agreed. They voted to bring an indictment of James Comey, not President Trump, not the DOJ. That’s how our system works.”
Pressed on Trump’s public calls for prosecutions and the replacement of a U.S. attorney prior to Comey’s indictment, Johnson rejected the notion that the president directed the case.
“I would take issue with that,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I don’t think that’s what he did.”
Instead, he accused Comey of helping weaponize the Justice Department during President Joe Biden’s administration, arguing that federal prosecutors unfairly targeted Trump.
“There’s never been a political figure in the history of the world who is so maligned and attacked, certainly not using the legal system of his country to go after him in the way that it did every way possible,” Johnson said. He added that Comey “ultimately was the leader of and responsible for” what he described as efforts to undermine Trump.
Johnson maintained that the perjury case against Comey “transcends politics,” noting that many potential charges were barred by statutes of limitation. “You cannot raise your hand, take an oath, and lie to Congress,” he said. “And that’s an important principle for us to advance.”
The case centers on whether Comey lied about leaking information in 2016 and 2017, unrelated to Biden. Asked about parallel investigations into Hunter Biden and the president’s handling of classified documents, Johnson said those inquiries amounted to “the bare minimum” by prosecutors to protect their reputation, while Trump faced broader efforts to “destroy him.”
Johnson also reiterated Republican concerns about the original House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, suggesting evidence was withheld and vowing continued oversight. “The American people deserve full transparency,” he said.
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