The word of the federal accusation of former FBI director James Comey sent anger and shock waves around Congress, with several prominent Democrats who sounded in what they called a politically motivated attack by the department of justice of President Donald Trump.
Democratic senator Chris Murphy described the accusation of Comey, who was under the positions of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judicial Committee in 2020, a “constitutional crisis.”
Chris Murphy speaks during the Annual Concord Cup 2025 on September 24, 2025 in New York City.
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“We are not on a slippery slope for a constitutional crisis. We are in the crisis. Is it time for leaders (political leaders, business leaders, civic leaders) to choose one side: democracy or autocracy?” He wrote on X on Thursday night.
Democratic representative Jamie Raskin pointed out the recent resignation of US prosecutor Erik Siebert and the appointment of Lindsey Halligan to prepare the stage for Comey’s accusation. Siebert, Trump’s previous candidate for the United States prosecutor for Eastern District of Virginia, resigned from the office after the sources said he refused to present charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James for unfounded accusations of mortgage fraud. Later, Trump said he “dismissed” Siebert and quickly installed Halligan in the position.
“As by magic, within the mere days of being appointed, Mrs. Haligan gave the President by presenting the non -foundation charges against Mr. Comey that his predecessor had rejected,” Raskin said in a statement.
“I have no doubt that a jury of his companions will acquit and claim Mr. Comey after having the opportunity to listen to all relevant evidence,” he added.
Hakeem Jeffries meets journalists at the Washington Capitol, on September 25, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, issued a statement on Thursday night calling the accusation a “shameful attack against the rule of law.”
“The malicious prosecution against James Comey does not have an apparent basis in law or fact, and the lawyers of good awareness in the department know it,” he said.
Democratic Senator Peter Welch described Comey’s accusation as a “new minimum.”
“The accusation of President Trump and his Department of Justice of James Comey is a new minimum for our democracy. The reason for the accusation is clear: Comey is Trump’s political adversary,” Welch wrote in X.
Republicans were more subjected to the initial reaction to the accusation.
Senator Chuck Grassley, president of the Judicial Committee of the Senate, seemed to look for more details and let the legal process develop.
“At the time of the alleged fake statements and obstruction of Comey, my colleagues and I had active investigations. If the facts and evidence support the finding that Comey lied to Congress and obstructed our work, should be responsible,” he said in a statement.
Some Republicans, however, praised the Department of Justice.
Eric Schmitt questions the director of the FBI Kash Patel during a hearing of the Senate Judicial Committee on “Supervision of the Federal Office of Investigation” in Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 16, 2025.
Jim Watson/AFP through Getty Images
“As I said last month, it is time to expose the lies and corruption of people like James Comey,” said Republican Senator Eric Schmitt in a publication about X.
John Cornyn speaks at a press conference after a Senate policy lunch at the United States Capitol on September 9, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Republican senator John Coryn said that although the “legal system establishes the presumption of innocence, Comey’s responsibility for the FBI abuses during the Trump’s first term is very late.”
“These charges are serious crimes, especially if the head of the Agency for the Application of the Superior Law of our Nation, and there must be consequences for any crime,” he said in a statement.
