Justice Department Files New Charge Against James Comey Over 2016 Leak

The Justice Department has filed a new criminal charge against former FBI Director James Comey, alleging he illegally transferred classified information in 2016. Comey’s legal team immediately rejected the move, arguing it falls outside the standard 10-year statute of limitations for federal indictments. This action marks the third criminal case brought against Comey since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.

The Department of Justice announced Monday that it filed a criminal information to pause the legal clock on the case. The filing was revealed in newly unsealed court documents that detail a closed-door dispute. Officials stated that using a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a recognized practice in federal courts. They described the matter as an ongoing investigation and declined to provide further details.

The charge stems from a New York Times story published in October 2016. The article reported on a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order that required Yahoo to scan emails for links to a foreign terrorist organization. Two government officials spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity about the order, which Yahoo was barred from disclosing. Prosecutors in the unsealed filing said investigators found evidence that Comey directed his staff to contact a journalist to correct misinformation that had appeared via Reuters the previous day.

Comey’s attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the government is attempting to charge his client for the third time in little more than a year. Fitzgerald noted that federal authorities previously investigated the disclosure twice without success. Prosecutor John Durham recommended no charges in a December 2018 memo, and a second investigation opened in January 2019 was closed in February 2020 without any filings. Fitzgerald argued that an information does not suffice to meet the statutory requirement for an indictment within 10 years of the offense.

In a video statement released Monday, Comey called the new effort an appalling abuse of the Justice Department. He said he remains innocent and not afraid of the administration, expressing continued belief in an independent federal judiciary. His legal team has asked a judge to dismiss the information, a request that is currently pending.

Comey served as FBI director when Trump took office in 2017 and was fired in May of that year. Their relationship has been strained since, particularly after Comey published a memoir in 2018 that criticized the president. The current case adds to a pattern of legal actions against Comey that has extended to his daughter, Maurene, who was fired from a Justice Department role in New York last year. A federal judge ruled on Monday that her termination was illegal.

The new filing lands just days before the midterm elections. The Justice Department has undertaken a series of politically charged investigative actions in recent weeks. Comey’s lawyers maintain that the government determined twice previously that no charges should be brought against anyone in connection with the 2016 disclosure.