WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has brought new charges against former FBI Director James Comey, the third time the department has moved to bring criminal charges against the longtime Trump critic.
Prosecutors filed a “criminal information” in Washington, D.C., charging Comey with two counts of leaking national defense information. The filing, made in early October near the 10-year statute of limitations, was unsealed on Monday.
The case centers on an October 2016 New York Times article about a secret surveillance order requiring Yahoo to scan users’ emails. Prosecutors allege Comey had a subordinate contact a Times journalist to correct an earlier Reuters report.
The matter has been investigated twice before. Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said: “Both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone.” His legal team has moved to dismiss the case, BBC News reported.
“It would almost be funny if it weren’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice,” Comey wrote on Substack. “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid of these people and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”
Comey was first indicted in September 2025 on false statement and obstruction charges, which were dismissed in November after a judge found the prosecutor had been unlawfully appointed. In April he was indicted over an Instagram post showing seashells arranged as “86 47”; that case is ongoing.
Also on Monday, a judge ruled that his daughter, former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, was illegally fired in July 2025 and ordered her reinstated with back pay.
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