(CNN) — The FBI disciplined an agent after refusing to participate in plans for a surrender and arrest of former FBI director James Comey at the time of his indictment, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Comey, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, was indicted last week on charges of giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
Before the initial indictment was unsealed, agents were asked to take part in an early morning surrender, that was likely to turn into a media spectacle. When one agent refused, they were disciplined, the source said.
After Comey was indicted by the grand jury, the federal court in Northern Virginia signed off on a summons for him to appear in federal court, meaning Comey is not being arrested prior to his arraignment, and only must attend his first court appearance on Thursday where he will face charges.
Had Comey been ordered to surrender, his treatment in this case would have been similar to the handling of some of Trump’s indictments. Some Trump allies have complained that Comey received preferential treatment.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media Saturday following reports by Reuters and others about the internal dispute over the Comey surrender.
“In this @fbi, follow the chain of command or get relieved,” Patel wrote.
Now that the case is charged, federal Judge Michael Nachmanoff, who is overseeing the case, maintains a significant level of control over how the Justice Department may interact with Comey and his legal team.
An attorney for Comey didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
The public discourse about the Justice Department’s handling of charging Comey, however, is likely to become part of the proceedings in court as he potentially heads to trial. Comey is expected to plead not guilty, and has publicly said he is “innocent” and would like a trial.
Both charges are connected to his September 30, 2020, testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A source told CNN that the indictment for lying to Congress is related to the FBI’s “Arctic haze” leak investigation, where classified information ended up in four different newspaper articles.
The indictment came swiftly after Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and a fierce ally of Trump, took over as the top federal prosecutor in Virginia’s eastern district. Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal prosecutors had concerns about the strength of the case, sources told CNN.
A person familiar with Halligan’s decision to charge Comey told CNN that she did not try to make a show of Comey’s indictment, by deciding not to do a perp walk, raid, arrest, TV appearances, interviews or any spectacle — and said there was no special treatment either way.
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Jeremy Herb, Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand, Katelyn Polantz, Aileen Graef and Andrew Kaczynski contributed to this reporting.
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