President Donald Trump denied any involvement in the federal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, even though just weeks earlier, he had posted a message on Truth Social instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to “go after” him and other political opponents.
During a recent press briefing inside the Oval Office, Trump was back to his usual antics.
“Comey is a dishonest guy. So all I have to do is, I mean, I have nothing to do with the case, I just say…” Trump said before CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed him.
“But you called on Pam Bondi to prosecute him in a post on Truth Social.”
Trump shot back, “No, no, I don’t call anybody. You know what, I’m allowed to do that if I wanted to do that. But Comey’s a crooked guy, he has been for years, a dishonest guy…”
Critics accused Trump of playing word games to distance himself from a case he had publicly demanded.
“No, he didn’t call her. He posted it on social media by mistake,” one person said in the comments of a viral post on Threads.
Many viewers in the post said they saw straight through Trump’s doublespeak.
MAGA: Trump treats you like you’re stupid because you are stupid.
Trump: I have nothing to do with the case against Comey.
Reporter: But you called on Pam Bondi to prosecute him
Trump: No, no, I don't call anybody. You know what, I am allowed to do that if I want to do that pic.twitter.com/2AJV629ASB
— Rachel Bitecofer
(@RachelBitecofer) October 6, 2025
“Trump’s greatest mental exercise is deciding when to lie and when else to lie. Fortunately for the sake of his minuscule brain processing power, he keeps it simple by never telling the truth,” one user wrote.
Some criticized Collins and other reporters in the press pool for not following up more forcefully and not allowing loopholes for Trump to jump through.
“She said he called on her,” one person wrote. “That doesn’t mean she said he called her on the phone.”
“Wow. Splitting hairs there!” said another.
“Word play by Donnie,” someone else quipped.
“The reporter failed. Read the damn text to him. Yes, he did,” one person said.
“This. 100%. He is lying. They are all lying. There is proof. Why the hell is everyone so scared to push back!!!?!?” another wrote.
One user even scripted what they wished Collins had said:
“Reporter: ‘Yes, you did. I have it right here. On Sept. 20th, you posted on Truth Social, “Pam… we can’t delay any longer… JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED…”. Come on reporters, give the proof, press for answers!”
Others said the president’s denial was blatant dishonesty.
“Keep asking him the hard questions. Back him into a corner with all of his lies,” one man said. Another wrote, “An unimportant walking lie and master distraction for the corrupted media to feed off as they dumb down the voters. Miller is the real enemy.”
Comey was indicted Sept. 25 on two counts — making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding — less than a week after Trump’s Sept. 20 post on Truth Social.
The message, addressed directly to Bondi, named Comey, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Trump wrote.
That same day, he told reporters, “If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty, or if they should be judged, they should be judged. And we have to do it now.”
Trump later celebrated Comey’s indictment, posting, “JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey.”
Comey’s indictment stems from his testimony on Sept. 30, 2020, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Questioned by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, about earlier testimony in which he denied authorizing leaks to the media about an FBI probe, Comey responded, “I stand by the testimony.”
The indictment does not specify what the investigation was about, but news reports speculate that the investigation was related to Hillary Clinton.
The statute of limitations on the charges was set to expire the week of the indictment. If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison.
Bondi said in a statement that the indictment “reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.”
Comey denied the charges in a video posted on Instagram.
“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way.”
His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday before U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee.
The Comey indictment was brought by Lindsey Halligan, the newly installed acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan, a former private attorney for Trump, had been in the post less than a week and had no prior criminal prosecution experience.
Her decision to pursue the case against Comey reportedly met resistance from within her own office. Career prosecutors in the Eastern District sent her a memo outlining why they believed there was insufficient evidence to support the charges, according to NBC News, citing officials familiar with the matter.
Despite that, Halligan proceeded, presenting the case alone before a grand jury that ultimately indicted Comey on two of three counts.
During court proceedings, confusion arose over multiple charging documents. Judge Lindsey Vaala questioned why there were two versions of the same indictment. “It has your signature on it,” she told Halligan, who replied, “I did not see.” Vaala ordered her to make handwritten corrections and submit both versions to the docket.
Unusually, Halligan’s name was the only one on the indictment — no assistant U.S. attorneys were listed.
Trump’s pressure campaign against Bondi and his Justice Department marks another break from post-Watergate norms that barred presidents from interfering in prosecutions. Since beginning his second term, Trump has appointed personal lawyers to senior DOJ posts, pardoned over 1,000 people charged in the Jan. 6 riot, and repeatedly called on federal prosecutors to target his adversaries.
As Comey awaits trial, critics say his indictment underscores how deeply the Justice Department has been politicized — and how far Trump is willing to go to settle old scores under the guise of “restoring accountability.”