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Welcome to the NewsHour. Former FBI Director James Comey has pled not guilty after federal

prosecutors charged him with lying to Congress five years ago.

The charges were brought against Comey by President Trump's

hand-picked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, his former

personal attorney. Halligan's predecessor was ousted for refusing to charge Comey. NPR's Kerry

Johnson was at the courthouse for Comey's arraignment, and she joins us now. Carrie, it's good to see you.

You too.

So just tell us about what happened in the courtroom today and also what it felt like in the room.

This was a really solemn moment.

Jim Comey, the former FBI director, former deputy attorney general, was actually in the courtroom

in a courthouse where he once used to work as a criminal

defendant. His family was there, his wife, his daughter, Maureen, who was fired this year

by the Justice Department and who was suing to get her job back, his son-in-law who quit his job

in the same prosecutor's office after Comey was indicted. And Comey basically pleaded not guilty in court and signaled

that he wants to go to trial.

And just as a reminder here, I mean, he's facing two criminal charges. What are they and what's he facing if convicted?

Two charges. The first is false statements to Congress in connection with testimony he gave to the Senate five years ago.

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