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Ex- FBI chief James the former director has entered an innocent plea to providing misleading information to US legislators and impeding a congressional proceeding.

His legal representative submitted the plea representing him in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday.

Patrick Fitzgerald declared he would attempt to have the legal matter dismissed for multiple factors including that his client, a critic of former President Trump, was being singled out.

The former director was formally accused just days after the former president pressured his top legal official to take action against him.

Court Developments

During the hearing on Wednesday, the defense counsel Patrick Fitzgerald advised the court they planned to submit multiple legal requests to dismiss the proceedings before a trial, claiming the legal action was spiteful and that a government lawyer was wrongfully assigned to take over the proceedings.

Mr Comey's proceedings was initially managed by the original attorney, who resigned under scrutiny from Donald Trump after his investigation into a different political adversary - New York Attorney General Letitia James - failed to initiate prosecution.

Legal Setting

James Comey seemed in good spirits as he came into the legal venue on Wednesday, speaking with his legal team and being lighthearted. He was accompanied by his spouse, his wife and offspring Maureen Comey, a US lawyer who the previous administration recently fired.

Following the reading to the court read his legal protections and the pair of allegations against him in court on mid-week, Mr Comey was questioned if he grasped the accusations.

"Yes your honour. Thank you," he told the court.

Background Context

James Comey was the FBI Director from 2013 to 2017 and was terminated about several months into Donald Trump's first administration as president. At the period, Mr Comey was overseeing an probe into international campaign influence and whether there were any relationships between the Russian government and the presidential campaign.

During his tenure, James Comey triggered a counter-response from the Democratic party when he declared just immediately preceding the national vote that he was probing political contender Clinton's use of a private email server. Indictments against the candidate were not filed, causing negative feedback from the Republican party as well.

Ongoing Accusations

The federal government claim Mr Comey gave untrue statements to US lawmakers during a legislative proceeding in September 2020 when he was being interrogated about both the email probe as well as the Russia election probe. They say he deceived the legislative body by saying he had not permitted an individual at the Federal Bureau of Investigation to release to news outlets details about the FBI investigations.

Prosecutors also allege Mr Comey of "wrongfully trying to affect, block and impede" the panel by giving misleading testimony to it.

Personal Comments

Via social media Mr Comey shared to his Instagram after he was charged, he stated he was not guilty and accused Donald Trump of behaving like a "tyrant".

"Our household have known for a long time that there are consequences to standing up to Donald Trump," he stated. "We refuse to live on our kneeling."

"I'm innocent," he added. "So let's have a legal proceeding."

The accusations against Mr Comey emerged after the former president published on digital channels demanding his chief prosecutor, Pam Bondi, charge James Comey and additional individuals.