Prosecutors file new charges against former FBI Director James Comey

Federal prosecutors have filed a new charging document against former FBI Director James Comey over an alleged 2016 disclosure of national defense information. Comey has not been indicted in the case and says he is innocent.

The case has played out under seal since Oct. 5, NBC News reported. It is the third federal criminal case brought against Comey since President Donald Trump’s second term began. Comey has long been a Trump target after initiating the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The new filing is a criminal information, a charge filed by prosecutors rather than an indictment issued by a grand jury. CBS News reported that prosecutors are seeking two counts under the Espionage Act for transmitting national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it. NBC News described the charges as transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit national defense information.

A Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News that prosecutors filed the information to preserve the case before the statute of limitations expires. “This is an ongoing criminal investigation, and we will not comment further,” the spokesperson said. CBS News reported that Comey has not been charged by criminal complaint either.

According to NBC News, the case stems from an Oct. 5, 2016, New York Times article by Charlie Savage about Yahoo’s reported assistance with U.S. email surveillance. A prosecutor wrote in a filing unsealed Monday that investigators had found evidence Comey sought to correct what he considered misinformation in a Reuters report published the day before.

“The investigation has uncovered evidence that Mr. Comey directed staff to speak to Mr. Savage about specific accuracy concerns related to the Reuters article, and thereby illegally transferred classified information,” Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Farahnak wrote, according to NBC News. Comey was FBI director at the time; Trump fired him in May 2017.

Comey’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the charges 10 days ago, NBC News reported. They argue that both counts rest entirely on an alleged Oct. 5, 2016, disclosure and that prosecutors did not meet the deadline for bringing the case. The government had 10 years to obtain a grand jury indictment, the lawyers argue, and a criminal information does not satisfy that requirement.

In a video posted Monday on Substack after the charges became public, Comey called the case “an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice.” He added: “I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.” His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, told CBS News that Comey “steadfastly maintains his innocence.”

A judge dismissed the first federal case brought against Comey during Trump’s second term, NBC News reported. In another case, Comey was indicted in North Carolina on April 28 over an image he posted of seashells arranged to read “8647.” Prosecutors allege the post threatened Trump; Comey has maintained his innocence.