The son-in-law of former FBI director James Comey quit his job moments after the longtime Donald Trump target was indicted.
Troy Edwards stepped down as a federal prosecutor for the office of U.S. Attorney in Virginia’s Eastern District, which had indicted Comey, after watching his father-in-law’s hearing in court on Thursday.
Edwards, who married Comey’s daughter Katherine in 2015, said he resigned “to uphold my oath to the Constitution and the country.”
The single-line letter was addressed to Lindsey Halligan, the new U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who started on Monday. Halligan, a former Miss Colorado contestant, previously acted as Trump’s personal lawyer.
Halligan indicted Comey on Thursday for allegedly lying to Congress about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
It comes days after Trump told U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to get more aggressive with his political enemies in a Truth Social post where he mentioned Comey by name.
In his unprecedented directive, Trump wrote: “Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey,’” who he claimed was “guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
The charges against Comey arrived swiftly. They allege obstruction of justice and making false statements in the testimony he gave to Congress in 2020.
Charging documents center on whether this constituted lying to the Senate Judiciary Committee “willfully and knowingly.”
They also claim he “did corruptly endeavour to influence, obstruct and impede the due and proper exercise of the power of the inquiry.”
Outwardly unfazed, Comey said he had “great confidence in the federal judicial system,” the Associated Press reports.
The feud between the president and Comey goes back to the earliest days of the first Trump administration.
Then-director Comey claimed he was summoned to an awkward dinner with Trump days into his first term, where he was asked to pledge allegiance to the new administration.
Comey later explained to Congress that he told the president he would be honest but would not swear allegiance.
He was dismissed from the FBI that same year.
Edward’s resignation comes just two months after Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, was fired by the Justice Department with no reason given.
She is one of six children and is married to Lucas Issacharoff, a U.S. Assistant Attorney in the southern district of New York.
She claimed it was unconstitutional, political, and has now sued to get it back.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice regarding Edwards’ resignation.
