FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed rumors of Comey’s “showy” arrest during an exclusive interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
Former FBI Director James Comey will be arraigned at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Comey last month. He was indicted on two counts – false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
Comey’s case was assigned to US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee.
Rumors began swirling that the FBI was reportedly weighing a “showy” arrest of James Comey.
The rumors started after Reuters reported on Friday that an FBI Agent was fired for refusing to arrest and perp walk James Comey.
Per Reuters: “An FBI agent was relieved of duty for declining to arrange a “perp walk” of the bureau’s former director, James Comey, in front of news media cameras after Comey was federally charged last month, four people briefed on the matter said on Friday.”
According to CBS News, the FBI was considering arresting James Comey with “large, beefy” agents in Kevlar vests before his arraignment.
Kash Patel brushed off the rumors and said reports of a ‘showy’ Comey arrest was a distraction.
Todd Blanche called it “gossip.”
Fox News reported:
Top Department of Justice officials brushed off rumors on Tuesday that James Comey would be arrested and paraded in front of the media, providing their remarks on the former FBI director’s court case one day before his scheduled arraignment.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview at the FBI Chicago Field Office that media reports about a possible camera-ready Comey arrest, sometimes known as a perp walk, were mere distractions.
“We conduct arrests, the FBI conducts arrests at every courthouse in this country every single day of the year,” Blanche said, calling the rumors about Comey’s circumstances “gossip.”
“Mr. Comey has been directed to appear, and I expect that he will. But the noise from MSNBC and from retired agents or unnamed anonymous sources about perp walks is just that,” Blanche said. “It’s just noise.”
“If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” the DOJ said.