Federal prosecutors on Monday charged former FBI Director James Comey with two counts involving national defense information, bringing a third criminal case against him by the Trump administration over an alleged disclosure to a reporter in 2016.3,5,7,6
The charges were filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. They accuse Comey of transmitting national defense information and conspiring to do so. Prosecutors allege that Comey, through one or more co-conspirators, directed an unnamed person, identified in the filing as Individual #1, to disclose the information to a reporter for a national news publication. The alleged conduct took place on Oct. 4 and 5, 2016, around a New York Times article published Oct. 5 by reporter Charlie Savage.5,3,6
Prosecutors say Comey was trying to correct a Reuters report that had run the day before. Special Assistant US Attorney Dustin Farahnak wrote in a filing, as quoted by NBC News, that “The United States’ investigation has uncovered evidence that former FBI Director, James B. Comey, sought to correct misinformation which had appeared in the press by way of Reuters the day before.” The filing alleges that Comey directed staff to speak with Savage about accuracy concerns related to the Reuters article, and that this illegally transferred classified information.5,7
Prosecutors brought the case as a criminal information, a document that, unlike an indictment, does not require approval from a grand jury or a judge. Prosecutors say the filing allows them to extend the statute of limitations, which determines how long authorities have to bring criminal charges.7,3,5
Accounts differ on when the case became public. The New York Post said the case was filed under seal on Oct. 5 and made public after Comey’s lawyers moved to unseal it. The Guardian described the government as having charged Comey on Monday, while DW said the Justice Department filed the document in early October, shortly before the 10-year deadline.5,3,7
Comey’s attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the charges relate to a Oct. 5, 2016, New York Times article that prosecutors had already investigated. In a statement, Fitzgerald said, “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. It purports to charge Mr Comey with crimes he did not commit.” Fitzgerald also pointed to the two earlier investigations. “Both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone,” he said.3,7
In a court filing unsealed Monday, Comey’s lawyers argue that the indictment should be dismissed because the statute of limitations has expired and the matter was twice investigated without charges. They also argue that the law required an indictment, not an information, within the 10-year period. Federal authorities began examining the disclosure in 2017, and Comey’s lawyers say prosecutor John Durham recommended against criminal charges in December 2018. A second investigation, opened in 2019 under the code name “Tropical Vortex,” was closed without charges in February 2020. A ruling on the dismissal request is pending.3,7
Comey responded in a video posted on his Substack. “Well, they’re back, again,” he said. “It would almost be funny if it wasn’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice, one that we cannot become numb to.” He added, “Nothing’s changed with me. I’m still innocent, and I’m still not afraid of these people and I still believe in the independent judiciary.”5,3
This is the third criminal case against Comey since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. In September 2025, he was charged with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. That case was dismissed after a judge found that Lindsey Halligan, then the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, had been unlawfully appointed. In April 2026, Comey was indicted again over a May 2025 Instagram post of seashells arranged to read “8647.” The Justice Department argued the numbers were a threat against Trump. Comey denied threatening Trump’s life and has sought to have that case dismissed.5,7
On the same day, a US district judge ruled that Maurene Comey, the former FBI director’s daughter, had been illegally fired from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York last year. The judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate her and provide her with back pay.5
Trump fired Comey in May 2017 while the FBI was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections to Trump’s campaign. The investigation was later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, who found that Russia had interfered in the election but insufficient evidence to prove criminal coordination between Moscow and Trump’s campaign. Trump has repeatedly accused Comey of treason, while Comey compared the president to a mafia boss in his 2018 memoir.7,3
A Justice Department spokesperson told the New York Post that the department “filed a waiverless criminal information to toll the statute of limitations as it relates to allegations concerning former FBI Director Comey.” The spokesperson added, “Filing a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a widely recognized practice in federal court and has been approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals.” The spokesperson concluded, “This is an ongoing criminal investigation, and we will not comment further.”5
