Prosecutors launch third criminal probe into Comey's 2016 leak

Federal prosecutors have filed a criminal information against former FBI Director James Comey, marking the third time the Department of Justice has sought to charge him criminally. The three-page document, submitted in Washington, D.C., accuses Comey of leaking national defense information. This action follows a decade of legal maneuvering and adds to the existing criminal cases already pending against the former bureau chief.

The new filing outlines two specific counts related to the alleged disclosure. The case originates from an incident in October 2016, when Comey was leading the FBI. Prosecutors allege that he passed classified details to the New York Times during that period. The document provides limited specifics regarding the nature of the information or the exact mechanism of the leak, focusing instead on the formal charging of the offense.

Comey’s legal team has moved to dismiss the new charges. Patrick Fitzgerald, one of Comey’s attorneys, stated that two separate groups of prosecutors had previously examined the same facts. Both teams concluded that no criminal charges should be brought against any individual. Fitzgerald argued that the current filing purports to charge crimes that were not committed and that the evidence does not support a new case after the prior investigations ended without action.

Legal experts note that the timing of the filing may be legally problematic. Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, told the BBC that the case likely exceeds the standard 10-year statute of limitations for such offenses. He described the motion to dismiss as having a strong chance of success in court. Kirschner characterized the prosecution as a politically motivated effort by the current administration to find a charge that might stick against a long-time critic of President Donald Trump.

Comey responded to the news in a video posted on Substack on Monday. He described the charges as an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice. He stated that while the situation might be humorous under different circumstances, it represents a level of overreach that the public should not ignore. Comey maintained his innocence and affirmed his trust in the independence of the federal judiciary.

The new charges differ procedurally from the first case brought against him. In September 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Comey for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He pleaded not guilty in October 2025, and a judge dismissed that case in November of the same year. The current charges were filed directly by a prosecutor through a criminal information, bypassing the grand jury process required for an indictment.

Comey also faces a second, ongoing case filed in April 2026. In that instance, he surrendered to authorities to answer charges related to a social media post. Prosecutors allege that an image he shared in 2025, showing seashells arranged to read 86 47, posed a threat to the life of the 47th president. Comey has denied wrongdoing in that matter, claiming he did not understand the slang term 86 as meaning to get rid of someone.

The timing of the new filing coincides with a ruling in a separate civil dispute involving Comey’s family. On the same day the criminal information was made public, a federal judge ordered the Department of Justice to reinstate Maurene Comey. She was fired as a federal prosecutor in New York in July 2025. The judge ruled that her termination was unlawful and ordered the government to provide her with back pay.

Maurene Comey had sued the government, arguing that her firing was based on her relationship to her father and her perceived political affiliations. The decision to reinstate her and award back pay came just as prosecutors moved forward with the third criminal case against her father. The legal team for James Comey has filed a motion to dismiss the new charges, seeking to end the case before it proceeds to trial.

The Department of Justice has not issued a detailed public explanation for the timing of the new filing. The two counts in the criminal information remain the central focus of the latest legal battle. Comey continues to serve as a prominent figure in the political and legal debates surrounding the scope of executive power and the independence of federal law enforcement agencies.