James Comey faces new federal charges over classified information

Federal prosecutors have brought two criminal counts against former FBI Director James Comey, accusing him of transmitting national defense information and conspiring to do so, according to court documents unsealed Monday.

The prosecution marks the third federal action initiated against Comey by the Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's administration, according to NBC News. The matter had remained under seal since early October before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ordered its release, pointing out that the underlying facts had already received substantial public scrutiny.

The latest allegations trace back to an October 2016 story published by The New York Times regarding email surveillance and Yahoo. In an unsealed filing, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Farahnak claimed that Comey instructed personnel to contact a reporter to push back against inaccuracies in an earlier news report, an action prosecutors assert unlawfully exposed classified material.

Comey has not been indicted by a grand jury in this proceeding. Instead, the government initiated the action through a criminal information, a direct prosecutorial filing. Under federal procedure, Comey cannot face trial on an information unless he formally waives his right to an indictment, meaning prosecutors must still secure an indictment from a grand jury before they can proceed toward an arrest, arraignment, or trial.

Attorneys representing Comey filed a motion to toss out the case ten days before the records were made public. Defense counsel contends the charges are invalid because the statutory time limit had expired. His lawyers argued that the 10-year limit required prosecutors to obtain an actual indictment rather than simply lodging a criminal information on the final day of the window.

The Justice Department countered that using an information to toll the statute of limitations is an accepted procedural step supported by federal appellate rulings.

In a statement, Comey’s lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald noted that previous prosecution teams under Trump’s prior administration reviewed the same news article twice and concluded that no charges were warranted.

Comey pushed back publicly in a video posted to Substack, labeling the prosecution an alarming misuse of law enforcement authority. He reiterated that he remains innocent and retains confidence in the federal court system.

Trump removed Comey from his post as head of the FBI in May 2017 amid the bureau's probe into Russian interference during the 2016 campaign. Of the two earlier federal actions brought against Comey, one was dismissed by a judge, while another indictment from April accused him of issuing a threat against Trump through an online image.