The indictment of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, was just two pages long and contained so little detail that it was hard for legal experts to assess its merits.
Some former government lawyers, as well as prominent Democrats, said the case appeared so flimsy that it was likely to fail. Some Republicans also expressed concerns, though supporters of President Trump, who had relentlessly pushed for Mr. Comey’s prosecution, praised the fact that Mr. Comey was indicted.
A federal grand jury indicted Mr. Comey on Thursday on one count of making a false statement and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding in connection with his testimony to a Senate committee in September 2020. The brief indictment was signed by Lindsey Halligan, a former defense lawyer for Mr. Trump whom he had appointed just days earlier as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — and whose first courtroom experience came when she presented the case, alone, in court on Thursday.
The indictment provided no details about evidence that prosecutors would use in a trial, and came even though career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia had found insufficient evidence to support charges.
The indictment asserts that Mr. Comey lied when he testified to senators in 2020 that he had not authorized anyone in the F.B.I. to leak information to the news media about a bureau investigation into an unnamed person. But it was not even clear what episode the indictment refers to.
Lawmakers and investigators have at different times focused on Andrew McCabe, who served as Mr. Comey’s deputy, and Daniel Richman, whom Mr. Comey had designated as a special government employee.
The Justice Department would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Comey intended to lie to the Senate committee, “not just that he got something wrong,” Robert Kelner, a lawyer at the firm Covington & Burling, who has represented the Republican National Committee and other Republican organizations, wrote on social media.
“What evidence do they have for that?” Mr. Kelner said, adding, “This isn’t a serious case.”
Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York who was fired by the Trump administration in 2017, predicted on social media that the charges against Mr. Comey would “likely end in spectacular failure for the government.”
Whether or not the Justice Department wins a conviction, the indictment of Mr. Comey is the most significant legal step taken by the Trump administration to punish a former official who the president has identified as an enemy. Ms. Halligan’s appointment came after Mr. Trump forced out her predecessor, Erik S. Siebert, who was overseeing the investigation of Mr. Comey. Mr. Siebert had also told Justice Department officials that investigators had raised concerns about a potential case against Mr. Comey, according to officials familiar with the situation.
“This is what prosecutors do in dictatorships,” Richard W. Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota who served as the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said in a social media post.
Congressional Democrats denounced the indictment, with Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota describing the Trump administration’s actions that led to the charges against Mr. Comey as “dangerous.”
Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, expressed concern on social media, saying, “Lawfare undermines our great country.” He added: “The continued escalation will only hurt us all.” Mr. Bacon, a five-term representative and a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, has said he will not seek re-election.
Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, offered qualified support for the indictment. “At the time of Comey’s alleged false statements and obstruction, my colleagues and I had active investigations,” Mr. Grassley said in a statement. “If the facts and the evidence support the finding that Comey lied to Congress and obstructed our work, he ought to be held accountable.”
Mr. Comey appeared to take the news of the indictment calmly, responding in a video posted on social media. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either,” he said. “I have great confidence in the federal justice system and I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial.”
Michael Gold and Claire Moses contributed reporting.
Francesca Regalado is a Times reporter covering breaking news.
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