Two NC lawyers join Trump-backed prosecution of former FBI director James Comey
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- Two NC lawyers join federal prosecution of former FBI director James Comey.
- Gabriel Diaz and Nathaniel Lemons will assist U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.
- Comey faces obstruction and false-statement charges; he pleaded not guilty.
Two lawyers from North Carolina will join the federal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted last month after President Donald Trump repeatedly demanded he face criminal charges.
The lawyers, Gabriel J. Diaz and Nathaniel T. Lemons, typically practice in the Eastern District of North Carolina — which encompasses Raleigh — but will now participate in the Virginia-based case against Comey.
Comey, a longtime target of Trump’s ire, is accused of obstructing a congressional investigation and making false statements. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Diaz and Lemons, who announced they were joining the case in court filings on Tuesday, will join U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan for the prosecution.
Halligan, who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer, has never before worked as a prosecutor.
Trump forced out Halligan’s predecessor, who had struggled to meet the president’s demand to build criminal cases against Trump foes Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, the New York Times reported.
Reuters called the decision to bring in North Carolina lawyers for the government’s high-profile case “highly unusual.”
Diaz was appointed as an assistant U.S. attorney in 2018 and assigned to the National Security Section of the office. He had previously worked in the Alamance County District Attorney’s Office beginning in 2015. Prior to that, he graduated from Campbell University School of Law.
Lemons was sworn in as a special assistant U.S. attorney in 2020. A 2025 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office referred to Lemons as an assistant U.S. attorney and referenced his prosecution of a felony drug case against a Harnett County defense attorney.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 11:40 AM.
