Comey charged a third time, over alleged disclosure of national defense information

Mixed · 2Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged by federal prosecutors with transmitting national defense information and conspiring to transmit it, the third criminal case the Trump administration has brought against him. 1 2 Centre · 1The two-count filing, made public on Monday 26 October, was lodged in the US District Court in Washington, D.C. and concerns an alleged disclosure on 5 October 2016, when Comey led the FBI. 3 Mixed · 2The first count alleges he knowingly transmitted national defense information to someone not authorised to receive it; the second alleges that, through one or more co-conspirators, he directed a person identified only as "Individual #1" to disclose such information to a reporter. The filing does not name the information, the reporter, the publication or the intermediaries. 3 4

Left · 1Raw Story, citing prosecutors' 23 October filing, reports the case centres on a 5 October 2016 New York Times story by Charlie Savage about Yahoo aiding US email surveillance, and alleges Comey directed staff to talk to Savage about a Reuters report from the day before. It also reports, citing declassified FBI memos, that prosecutors in Washington during Trump's first term and a team led by John Durham investigated the same disclosure and declined to bring charges. 5 Left · 3Comey has not been indicted by a grand jury or charged by complaint. He was charged by a criminal information, a document a prosecutor can file without a grand jury. The case was filed under seal on 5 October and unsealed on Monday by US District Judge Trevor McFadden. 6 5 7 Right · 3A Justice Department spokesperson said the information was filed to preserve or toll the statute of limitations, calling it a widely recognised practice approved by multiple appeals courts, and added that this is an ongoing criminal investigation. The Washington Examiner notes a special 10-year limit applies to these offences, and the filing came exactly 10 years after the alleged disclosure. 6 2 4

Left · 1Comey's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss on 16 October, arguing the 10-year deadline covers only grand jury indictments, so the charges came too late. Prosecutors replied on 23 October that "Mr. Comey is mistaken" and that the motion is premature because he has not been indicted. McFadden wrote that the court will address the remaining issues "in due course". 5 Right · 1According to AP, Comey's attorneys said in a court filing that then-Special Counsel John Durham wrote a classified memo in December 2018 recommending no charges over the October 2016 disclosure, and that a second investigation by the US Attorney's office for the District of Columbia, code-named "Tropical Vortex", was closed without charges in February 2020. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said: "Both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone." 8 Mixed · 2Anadolu Agency reports the filing was signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter, and that the Justice Department said it was meant to preserve the case while it seeks a grand jury indictment. AP describes the effort as part of politically charged Justice Department actions in the run-up to the midterm elections the following week; it also notes a criminal information is typically filed with a defendant's consent alongside a plea deal, which Comey's lawyers have said they will not give. 9 8

Right · 2Some right-leaning outlets describe the filing as an indictment: Hot Air calls it a "three-page indictment" and argues it may be harder for Comey to beat than the "86 47" case, while Breitbart recounts Attorney General Todd Blanche's May remarks on that earlier case. 10 11 Mixed · 2Comey denied wrongdoing in a video posted online, saying "it would almost be funny if it weren't such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice" and "I'm still innocent." He said his lawyers would fight the case and warned that "the next couple years are going to be hard for all of us." His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said he "steadfastly maintains his innocence." 3 6 Mixed · 2Comey was indicted in Virginia in September 2025 for false statements and obstructing Congress, days after Trump publicly demanded prosecution of his critics. A judge dismissed that case on 24 November 2025 because interim prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed, and the Justice Department has appealed. 3 5

Mixed · 2A second case, an April indictment in North Carolina, charges him with threatening the president over a May 2025 Instagram photo of seashells spelling "86 47". He pleaded not guilty in both earlier cases and has called the prosecutions vindictive. The plea hearing in the North Carolina case has been pushed to January, with trial not before 2027. 3 5 Mixed · 2The news came hours after Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the administration unlawfully fired Comey's daughter, Maurene Comey, from her federal prosecutor post in Manhattan in 2025. The Washington Examiner notes that ruling concerned her employment and was separate from the criminal allegations against her father. 12 4