Troy Edwards, the son-in-law of ex-FBI director James Comey, quit his job as a federal prosecutor Thursday, just minutes after Comey was indicted by a grand jury on charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing its proceedings.
Edwards reportedly submitted a one-sentence resignation letter stating that he was leaving to “uphold my oath to the Constitution and the country.”
His letter was addressed to Lindsey Halligan, the new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who last week replaced the much more experienced Erik Siebert in the role after a career in Florida home insurance litigation.
Comey, 64, is a long-standing enemy of President Donald Trump, who fired him in May 2017 over his alleged mishandling of the Hillary Clinton email affair during the 2016 presidential election and the “Crossfire Hurricane” probe examining, ultimately inconclusively, whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian operatives to win the White House.
The former FBI director appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30, 2020, to discuss the latter. Under the statute of limitations, the deadline to take issue with his remarks that day falls on Tuesday, the fifth anniversary of his appearance, hence the administration’s rush to act.
Comey was duly indicted by a jury of more than a dozen jurors on Thursday on the two charges related to his testimony. However, they opted not to indict him on a third count of lying to Congress, an unusual twist given that grand juries seldom dismiss prosecutors’ charges.
Responding in a defiant video posted to Instagram, Comey said: “My family and I have known for years that there are costs for standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either.
“I’m not afraid, and I hope you aren’t either. My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial and keep the faith.”
By contrast, Trump reacted to the news with glee on Truth Social: “JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI.
“Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts. He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi and current FBI head Kash Patel both likewise cheered the Comey indictment on social media.
The federal charges are the first to hit one of the individuals Trump named in another post on Saturday, in which he publicly told Bondi, “We can’t delay any longer.”
The president called for action “now” against Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, the latter another outspoken anti-Trump voice.
For his part, Edwards was the deputy chief of the National Security Section, a role in which he was responsible for handling high-profile espionage cases for the Pentagon and the CIA.
He also helped prosecute Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes over his part in helping to organize the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, has already been forced out of her role as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and is among a team of other fired prosecutors suing the Trump administration over their dismissals.
