Justice Department Charges James Comey a Third Time, This Time Over an Alleged 2016 Leak

Justice Department Charges James Comey a Third Time, This Time Over an Alleged 2016 Leak

A Third Criminal Case in Just Over a Year

Federal prosecutors have charged former FBI Director James Comey with transmitting national defense information and conspiring to do so, the third criminal case the Trump administration has brought against him since the president returned to office. The charging document was unsealed on October 26 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It alleges that Comey, "through one or more co-conspirators," directed an unidentified individual to disclose national defense information to a reporter for a national news publication.

A Thin Filing Built Around a 2016 Article

The filing offers few details about what Comey supposedly leaked. According to Comey's lawyers, the case centers on an October 5, 2016, article in The New York Times, published while Comey led the FBI under President Barack Obama. Prosecutors allege the events took place on or about October 4 to 5, 2016 — a full decade before the charges surfaced. The document names no reporter and describes no specific classified content.

An Information, Not an Indictment, Filed to Beat the Clock

Prosecutors proceeded by criminal "information" rather than grand jury indictment. The Justice Department said it filed a waiverless criminal information to toll the statute of limitations, calling it a widely recognized federal practice. The paper trail is tight: the information was filed under seal on October 5, kept secret by order of Judge Trevor McFadden, challenged by a defense motion to dismiss on October 9, and unsealed on October 26 at the defense's request.

Defense Says Two Prosecutor Teams Already Passed on This

Comey attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the 2016 article was investigated by two separate teams of prosecutors during the first Trump administration, and both times the government decided no charges should be brought against anyone. "Now, ten years after the article was published, the Government filed an 'Information' against Mr. Comey that was not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury," Fitzgerald said. "It purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit." The defense argues the 10-year limitations window closed on the October 5 anniversary, and an information alone cannot put Comey on trial.

"They're Back Again," Comey Says in Video Response

"Well, they're back — again," Comey said in a video posted after the charges became public, adding, "I'm still innocent." He called the prosecution an appalling abuse of the Justice Department. The case was unsealed only hours after a federal judge in New York ruled that the department had unlawfully fired Comey's daughter, Maurene Comey, last year from her post as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Two Earlier Cases: One Dismissed, One Pending

The first case, filed in September 2025, accused Comey of making false statements to Congress; a judge dismissed it in November 2025 after finding the prosecutor handling it was unlawfully appointed. The second came on April 28, 2026, in North Carolina, alleging Comey threatened the president by posting an image of seashells arranged to read "8647." That case is still pending. Fitzgerald noted this is the third attempt to charge Comey in little more than one year.

What Comes Next Hinges on the Dismissal Motion

The new case is assigned to Judge McFadden, a Trump appointee, who wrote that criminal charges against a former FBI director for his conduct in office are of significant public interest and subject to the public's "watchful eye." If the judge rejects the dismissal motion, prosecutors must still secure a grand jury indictment before any trial. If he agrees the limitations period expired, the third case collapses like the first.