The lead prosecutor in former FBI director James Comey’s criminal case has withdrawn from the proceedings, according to a court filing the Department of Justice submitted Friday evening. Matthew Petracca, a prosecutor from the U.S. attorney’s office for the eastern district of North Carolina, was replaced by assistant U.S. attorney Timothy Severo. The filing did not disclose a reason for the change. A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Comey was indicted in North Carolina in April 2026 on two federal counts: threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The charges stem from a photograph Comey posted last year showing seashells on a beach arranged to read “86 47” — a message the Justice Department says amounted to a threat against Trump, the 47th president. If convicted, Comey faces up to 10 years in prison.
In a video posted to his personal Substack after the indictment, Comey defended his innocence. “Well, they’re back,” he said in the video. “This time, about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won’t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me. I am still innocent. I am still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So, let’s go.”
The current prosecution is the Justice Department’s second attempt to bring criminal charges against Comey. An earlier indictment alleging that Comey lied to Congress was thrown out by a federal judge in Virginia, who ruled that the prosecutor overseeing that case had been wrongfully appointed. Former prosecutors have said the seashell-photo charges are weaker than the earlier ones.
The personnel change comes amid broader questions about leadership at the Justice Department. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche assumed his role after Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi in early April. Michael Bromwich, a former inspector general at the Justice Department, told The Guardian that “the descent to the bottom at DOJ has accelerated since Bondi’s departure — an apparent casualty of Blanche’s ambition.”
Comey’s history with Trump dates to the president’s first term, when Comey led the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia. Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017, four years into his 10-year term. Legal experts have argued that the second indictment of Comey — a top target of Trump’s campaign against perceived political adversaries — suggests additional charges could follow against other figures whom the president has publicly singled out.
Comey’s trial is set to begin Oct. 21 in North Carolina.