MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The former director of the FBI appeared in court today as a criminal defendant. James Comey has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges, charges related to a media leak several years ago. Comey is one of several perceived enemies that President Trump has publicly urged his attorney general to prosecute. And Comey's lawyer says Comey is anxious to go to trial and to clear his name. NPR's Carrie Johnson was in the courtroom today. She's with me now. Hey, Carrie.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hey there.
KELLY: OK. Tell me more. Just what actually happened in court today?
JOHNSON: Jim Comey was read his rights. He pleaded not guilty through his lawyer, and the judge released him with no bond and no conditions. For Comey, this must have been a surreal scene. He once worked as a federal prosecutor in Virginia. Now he was returning to the federal courthouse there as a person facing trial.
KELLY: And did we get any sense - did he show his hand at all in terms of how he intends to fight these charges?
JOHNSON: Yeah, a bit. His lawyer is Patrick Fitzgerald, himself a legendary former national security prosecutor. Fitzgerald went out of his way to say at the start of the arraignment that it is the honor of my life to represent Jim Comey in this matter. He says Comey wants to go to trial, but they plan to file two big batches of court motions before then. The first will allege vindictive or selective prosecution - basically, that President Trump improperly targeted Comey, who's one of Trump's longtime critics. And the defense may try to use Trump's social media posts and remarks about Comey to make their case.
Remember that the president urged his Justice Department to hurry up and move along against Comey, just as the statute of limitations was set to expire. The White House pushed out a longtime prosecutor who thought the evidence was weak and replaced that man with a member of Trump's inner circle with no experience. Her name is Lindsey Halligan. Comey says she was not legally appointed, so they're going to challenge the indictment on that basis, as well.
KELLY: OK. So a little preview of the defense there. What about the government side of this? Was Lindsey Halligan there today?
JOHNSON: She appeared in court, but she didn't say anything. And she's recruited two federal prosecutors from North Carolina to try this case, seemingly because no prosecutor in Virginia wanted to touch it. One of the North Carolina prosecutors is Nathaniel Lemons. He was a military lawyer. He's worked on national security. The other, Gabriel Diaz, has less experience. These DOJ lawyers say they're just wrapping their arms around all the information they're obliged to share with Comey. There's some classified material there, so that could turn into a sticking point down the road.
KELLY: Carrie, you said this must have been a surreal scene for Jim Comey. What about for everybody else? Just take me inside the atmosphere at the courthouse today.
JOHNSON: People lined up outside there before dawn, even though it was a very rainy morning. Some protesters held signs that said things like, show trial and Trump is trashing the Constitution. Comey's the first perceived enemy of Trump to face criminal charges this year. But the president says there will be more. We also saw members of Comey's family, including his daughter, Maurene, who was fired by the Justice Department this year. She's suing the DOJ to get her job back.
KELLY: OK. So next steps, where does this go from here?
JOHNSON: This trial is going to take place in Alexandria, Virginia, a suburb of D.C. The court's known as the rocket docket for how fast things move. In fact, the arraignment started five minutes early. That never happens, but Judge Michael Nachmanoff said it was fitting. The judge directed both sides to meet and talk about any classified information in the case to try to avoid problems later. He said he would not tolerate delays. He set a trial date for January 5 of next year.
KELLY: NPR's Carrie Johnson. Thanks, Carrie.
JOHNSON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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