Ex-FBI Chief James Comey Faces Federal Charges for a Third Time

The Justice Department charged former FBI Director James Comey on Sunday with transmitting national defense information and conspiracy to do the same, marking the third federal criminal case brought against him since President Donald Trump returned to office. The charges were filed via criminal information rather than a grand jury indictment, a procedural distinction Comey's legal team says renders them legally defective.

Prosecutors allege the case centers on an October 5, 2016 article published by The New York Times headlined "Yahoo Said to Have Aided U.S. Email Surveillance by Adapting Spam Filter," written by reporter Charlie Savage. According to the Justice Department, Comey directed staff to speak with Savage to correct what he viewed as inaccuracies in a prior Reuters report — and that in doing so, classified information was unlawfully disclosed.

The DOJ alleged in court filings that Comey specifically authorized then-FBI General Counsel James Baker to share the sensitive material with Savage. Prosecutors contend the information disclosed related to classified surveillance techniques, placing the matter under federal statutes governing the protection of national defense information.

Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 until his firing by Trump in May 2017, categorically denied the allegations. In a video statement, he said: "Well, they're back again. It would almost be funny if it weren't such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice." He said he remained confident in the independence of the federal judiciary.

His attorneys moved swiftly to challenge the case on procedural grounds, arguing the charges are time-barred. The defense contends that prosecutors had a ten-year window to obtain a formal grand jury indictment and that filing a criminal information at the deadline does not satisfy that legal requirement. They called for dismissal before the case progresses further.

This is the third time the Trump-era Justice Department has brought criminal charges against Comey. The first case was dismissed by a federal judge after prosecutors were found to have used an unofficial prosecutor. The second, an April 2026 indictment filed in North Carolina, involved separate allegations. Comey has pleaded not guilty in that matter as well.

The broader context is one of sustained legal pressure on a figure Trump has long publicly targeted. The president fired Comey in May 2017 amid the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and has repeatedly referred to him as a "dirty cop" in the years since. Critics of the latest charges, including civil liberties advocates and former federal prosecutors, have argued the successive prosecutions amount to politically motivated harassment.

Notably, the Justice Department investigated the same alleged 2016 disclosure twice during Trump's first term and declined to bring charges on both occasions, according to Comey's defense. That history is expected to form a central pillar of his legal strategy going forward.

The use of a criminal information filing rather than a grand jury indictment is legally significant. Grand jury indictments require independent citizen review of evidence, whereas a criminal information can be filed directly by prosecutors — a path defense lawyers say was chosen here to circumvent the statute of limitations, an argument courts will likely be asked to resolve.

Comey's legal team has indicated it will seek a swift dismissal. If the case proceeds to trial, it would represent one of the most high-profile prosecutions of a former senior intelligence official in recent American history, raising fundamental questions about the limits of executive power and the protection of press sources from prosecution.