Ex-FBI chief Comey hit with third federal leak charge

Federal prosecutors filed a new charging document against former FBI Director James Comey on Monday, marking the third time the Justice Department has moved to bring criminal charges against him since 2025.

The three-page filing contains two counts related to leaking national defense information. A court document states that the case stems from an alleged disclosure of classified materials to the New York Times in October 2016, while Comey was leading the bureau.

Unlike the previous cases, this new charge was brought via a criminal information. This is a formal written document filed directly by a prosecutor, bypassing the need for a grand jury to approve the indictment.

Comey's legal team responded quickly. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, noted that two separate teams of prosecutors had already investigated the same 2016 disclosure during the first Trump administration. Fitzgerald said both times, the government determined that no one should be charged.

"Both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone," Fitzgerald stated. He added that the current filing purports to charge Comey with crimes he did not commit.

In a video posted on Substack, Comey denied any wrongdoing. He called the new charges an appalling abuse of the Justice Department. "Nothing's changed with me - I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid of these people and I still believe the independent federal judiciary," he said.

The timing of the filing coincides with a victory for Comey's family. On the same day the new charges were made public, a federal judge ruled that the Justice Department illegally fired his daughter, Maurene Comey. Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor in New York, lost her job in July 2025 and sued, arguing her firing was due to her father and her perceived political views.

The judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate Maurene Comey and provide back pay. The ruling came as the legal team for the former FBI director filed a motion to dismiss the new charges against her father.

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner told the BBC that the case may have exceeded the ten-year statute of limitations. He gave the motion to dismiss a very good chance of being granted. Kirschner described the charges as a revenge-fueled attempt by President Trump to have his Justice Department find something that might stick.

Comey was first indicted in September 2025 on charges of lying to Congress and obstruction. He pleaded not guilty, and that case was dismissed in November 2025. In April 2026, he surrendered to face charges over a 2025 Instagram post featuring seashells arranged to read 86 47, a slang term for removing someone. That case remains ongoing.