A veteran defense lawyer turned judge will oversee the case against ex-FBI director James Comey

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Michael Nachmanoff has built a quiet reputation in the federal courthouse in northern Virginia — a onetime public defender turned judge known for methodical preparation and a cool temperament. On Wednesday, he’ll find himself at the center of a political storm: presiding over the Justice Department’s prosecution of former FBI director James Comey.

Confirmed to the bench by President Joe Biden in 2021, Nachmanoff was randomly assigned to the case after a Virginia grand jury indicted Comey last month on charges including obstruction of a congressional proceeding. The assignment instantly drew Donald Trump’s attention. The president, long fixated on Comey, blasted him as a “Dirty Cop” and derided Nachmanoff as a “Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge” while celebrating the charges as “JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!”

Despite the political noise, lawyers who know Nachmanoff say he is unlikely to be swayed.

“Whatever his personal politics are, I do not think that they will enter the courtroom,” said longtime Virginia defense attorney Nina Ginsberg, who has tried cases before him. “He’s confident enough in his ability to judge fairly that I don’t think he’s going to be influenced by politics or the media coverage.”

Nachmanoff, 57, came to the bench after more than a decade as the Eastern District of Virginia’s top federal public defender, where he argued and won a Supreme Court case that helped reduce racial disparities in crack cocaine sentencing. He served six years as a magistrate judge, handling some politically tinged cases. In 2019 he oversaw the first appearances of Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, releasing them on $1 million bonds. More recently, he refused to block the CIA from firing Dr. Terry Adirim, a Pentagon physician targeted by Trump allies over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

“He was an aggressive advocate, the kind of lawyer who left no stones unturned,” Ginsberg said of the judge. She said he conducts his courtroom in an even-handed, respectful manner.

Timothy Belevetz, a defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, said Nachmanoff was “always a worthy adversary.”

“He’s been around the courthouse for years and years and years,” Belevetz said. “He’s very well-respected. He’s very smart, he’ll give parties a fair shake, he listens to the arguments.”

Comey was charged late last month with lying to Congress. Days earlier, Trump appeared to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute the former FBI director and other political enemies.

Comey himself has acknowledged the political backdrop but expressed confidence in the court system. In a video after his indictment, he said: “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial.”

The clash between Trump and Comey has been building for years. Trump fired the FBI director in 2017, just months into his first term, as the bureau investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election. Since then, the former president has repeatedly called for Comey’s prosecution and, in the days before the indictment, publicly pressed Bondi to act.

For lawyers who’ve worked with Nachmanoff, that kind of political noise is unlikely to matter. They point to his long record of independence and constitutional rigor. “Federal public defenders are renowned for their fidelity to the Constitution and due process,” said Lisa Wayne, executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

She said the White House should welcome Nachmanoff’s involvement as a safeguard “against the appearance of partisan political attacks.”

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Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Eric Tucker and Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.