U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff is overseeing the criminal case of James Comey, the former FBI director and a longtime adversary of President Trump.
Nachmanoff, who was appointed by former President Biden, was confirmed in 2021, the newest addition to the federal court in Alexandria, Va., where Comey was hit with two federal charges following a pressure campaign from Trump. Before that, Nachmanoff, who was randomly assigned the case, was a magistrate judge in the same district for six years.
He is also presiding over Comey’s arraignment Wednesday, when the former FBI director is expected to make an appearance.
It’s not the first time the judge has presided over politically fraught cases.
Earlier this year, he let the CIA fire a doctor whom Trump’s allies targeted for promoting mandatory COVID-19 vaccines in the military while serving as a Pentagon health official during the pandemic.
He previously sentenced a former health care worker who illegally leaked the health records of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to two years in prison, calling the conduct “truly despicable.”
And as a magistrate judge, he presided over the arraignment of two Rudy Giuliani associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who faced campaign finance charges.
Nachmanoff’s nomination was backed by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who said at the time that he possessed the “requisite fairness, temperament and integrity” to assume the post.
The Senate voted 52-46 in support of his confirmation, including three Republican lawmakers: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.)
Before joining the bench in the Eastern District of Virginia, Nachmanoff was a federal public defender in the district for 13 years. He also helped develop the district’s first drug court program, according to a 2021 letter from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supporting his confirmation.
In 2007, he won a case before the Supreme Court about sentencing disparities in crack cocaine convictions. The justices ruled 7-2 in his favor, with Ginsburg writing for the majority that judges could have more latitude in deciding prison terms in like cases. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.
Nachmanoff is a 1995 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University in 1991.
Now, he’ll be thrown into the limelight as he presides over Comey’s criminal case.
Trump suggested Friday morning that Comey caught a break with the assignment of Nachmanoff.
“He is a Dirty Cop, and always has been,” Trump said of Comey, “but he was just assigned a Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge, so he’s off to a very good start.”
The former FBI director was indicted on two charges stemming from a Sept. 30, 2020, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing probing investigations into ties Trump’s 2016 campaign had with Russia.
Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017, while the bureau’s investigation was still ongoing, leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Their relationship has been adversarial ever since.
The felony charges, making false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. However, if convicted, Comey would be a first-time offender who would likely face lesser punishment.
He professed his innocence Thursday in a video posted to social media soon after the indictment was publicly filed.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system,” Comey said. “And I’m innocent. So, let’s have a trial. And keep the faith.”
Comey is set to first appear before Nachmanoff on Thursday for his arraignment, where he is expected to enter a plea.