FBI ex-director faces new federal charges

Federal prosecutors filed new criminal charges against James Comey, the former director of the FBI, on Monday. The government accuses Comey of sharing information related to national defense and conspiring to share that information. This marks the third federal case brought against Comey by the current administration.

The case had been under a judicial seal since October 5. Defense lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the charges ten days ago. They argue that the statute of limitations has expired. The alleged incident took place on October 5, 2016, exactly ten years before the government filed these new charges.

The charges stem from a New York Times article published in 2016 by Charlie Savage. The article reported that Yahoo had adapted its spam filter to help U.S. surveillance of emails. Assistant Special Federal Prosecutor Dustin Farahnak stated in a declassified document that Comey attempted to correct erroneous information that had appeared in Reuters the day before. Farahnak said the investigation found Comey instructed staff to speak with Savage about the accuracy of the article, which led to the illegal transmission of classified information.

Comey responded to the news in a video posted to Substack on Monday. He said, "Well, they've struck again. It would almost be funny if it weren't for the fact that it's an outrageous abuse of the Department of Justice, something we can't stand by and watch." He added that he remains innocent and does not fear the people prosecuting him. Comey also expressed his continued belief in the independence of the federal judiciary.

Patrick Fitzgerald, Comey's attorney, said the first case was dismissed after the Department of Justice used someone who was not a U.S. Attorney to seek a grand jury indictment. Fitzgerald noted that the latest case involves an article that two separate teams of prosecutors investigated during the first Trump administration. He said the government determined at that time not to bring charges. Now, ten years later, the government has filed what Fitzgerald calls a formal accusation that was not approved by a judge or issued by a grand jury. Fitzgerald stated that Comey will fight these charges firmly and publicly.

Comey served as FBI director when the 2016 article was published. President Donald Trump removed him from his position in May 2017 after Comey began investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its potential links to the Trump campaign. Trump has repeatedly called for Comey's prosecution, describing him as a corrupt police officer and a sick person.

The previous case against Comey arose in April 2026 in North Carolina. He was charged with threatening Trump by publishing a photo of seashells arranged to form the number 8647. Comey has maintained his innocence in all cases. A judge dismissed the first federal case against him.

Prosecutors argue that the charges were filed within the legal time limit and that Comey's lawyers are misinterpreting the applicable law. The government contends that the document filed constitutes a valid accusation.