HOUSTON, United States

Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges that he lied to the US Congress during testimony about the bureau's investigation into Russia's ties to Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, according to media reports.

The two-count indictment against Comey followed a pressure campaign by Trump, who has openly vowed retribution against his political enemies and has urged the US Justice Department to prosecute them.

Trump's former appointee for the US Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, resigned after not seeking an indictment against Comey, citing there was not enough evidence to bring charges.

Trump speedily replaced Siebert with Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecuting experience, who immediately moved to indict Comey.

The charges against the former FBI director come from a brief exchange with Sen. Ted Cruz that was centered around Comey's 2017 testimony, in which he said he never authorized anyone to be an anonymous source for news reports about the investigation.

During the testimony, Cruz asked Comey about his conflicting accounts with former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe regarding a leak to the Wall Street Journal about the Clinton investigation just days before the 2016 election, in which Trump won.

"What Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee cannot both be true," Cruz said during the 2020 hearing. One or the other is false. Who’s telling the truth?"

Comey replied, "I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony you summarized."

The indictment asserted that Comey's testimony was false because the former FBI director "then and there knew" that he had authorized an unidentified "Person 3" to serve as an anonymous news source about the investigation.

Comey faces counts of false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

If convicted, each felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

A trial has been set for Jan. 5 and is expected to last several days.

Comey’s attorney said the defense planned to file two motions ahead of trial, including a motion alleging vindictive prosecution at Trump’s direction.

The defense also intends to challenge the lawfulness of Halligan’s appointment, which he said would go hand in hand with the vindictive prosecution challenge.

In addition, Comey’s attorneys said they plan to file a second set of motions alleging grand jury abuse and outrageous government conduct.

US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff set oral arguments on the first set of motions for Nov. 19 and for Dec. 9 on the second set. An out-of-district judge would hear any challenges to Halligan’s appointment, said Nachmanoff.