The Justice Department has charged former FBI Director James Comey a third time, accusing him of causing secret defense information to reach a New York Times reporter in 2016, and it filed the case exactly 10 years later to beat the legal time limit.
Story Highlights
- Prosecutors accuse Comey of two Espionage Act crimes: passing national defense information to someone not allowed to have it, and conspiring to do so
- The charges tie to an October 5, 2016, New York Times story about Yahoo helping U.S. email surveillance by adapting its spam filter
- Prosecutors filed the case under seal on October 5, 2026, exactly 10 years later, to keep the time limit from running out
- Comey says he is innocent and calls the case “an appalling abuse” of the Justice Department, and his lawyers have asked a judge to throw it out
- Prosecutors allege Comey told his staff to speak to the newspaper about concerns over the accuracy of a different news story published the day before.
What Prosecutors Say Happened
Court records made public late on Monday, October 26, show that prosecutors filed a two-count case against Comey in federal court in Washington, D.C. The charges fall under the Espionage Act, a federal law that makes it a crime to share national defense secrets with people not cleared to have them. The Justice Department said it filed when it did to stop the 10-year time limit on these charges from running out.
The three-page filing says that on or about October 5, 2016, Comey, acting “through one or more co-conspirators,” directed a person it calls “Individual #1” to “disclose national defense information to a reporter for a national news publication.” It does not name that person, the reporter or the outlet, and it does not say what the information was. Comey’s lawyer has confirmed the charges relate to the October 5, 2016, New York Times story about Yahoo.
A Justice Department filing dated October 23 says that story held classified information and was “significantly similar” to an internal government email sent around hours before it was published, according to reports. Prosecutors allege Comey told his staff to speak to the newspaper about concerns over the accuracy of a different news story published the day before.
How The Case Was Filed And Why Timing Matters
Prosecutors used a criminal information, not a grand jury indictment. A criminal information is a charging paper that prosecutors file on their own, without a grand jury voting on it first. Espionage Act charges like these generally must be brought within 10 years. The Justice Department says filing the information “tolled,” or paused, that clock. A department spokesman said the practice is “approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals.”
Comey’s lawyers say the deadline passed on October 5, 2026, and that only a grand jury indictment, not a prosecutor’s filing, can keep a case alive once the 10 years are up. They have asked the court to dismiss the charges. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden granted Comey’s request to unseal the case files, but his order did not rule on the motion to dismiss.
Comey Fires Back
“Well, they’re back again,” Comey said in a video posted online. He said it would be funny if it were not “such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice.” In another video he said, “Nothing’s changed with me. I’m still innocent.”
His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, a former federal prosecutor, said Comey “steadfastly maintains his innocence” and that the filing “purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit.” Fitzgerald said two separate teams of prosecutors looked into the 2016 story during the first Trump administration. “Both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone,” he said. Comey is accused, not convicted, and must be proven guilty in court.
Why This Case Matters
Leaks of defense secrets can put sources and operations at risk, and the law says those secrets stay closed no matter how senior the person holding them. The same Espionage Act rules apply to a former FBI director as to a soldier or a contractor. Comey’s side says the case is late, was already looked at twice and is driven by politics. The Justice Department denies that it is prosecuting him for his views.
What Comes Next In Court
The judge has not scheduled a ruling on the motion to dismiss. This is the third criminal case brought against Comey. A judge dismissed the first, a Virginia case accusing him of lying to Congress, in November 2025 after finding the prosecutor had not been properly appointed. The government appealed, and the appeals court has not ruled. In the second, in North Carolina, Comey is charged over a 2025 social media photo of seashells spelling “86 47,” which prosecutors call a threat against President Trump. Comey says he took it as a political message, and his request to dismiss that case is pending.
Sources:
bbc.com, afp.com, upi.com, cnbc.com, detroitnews.com, nbcnews.com, yahoo.com, thehill.com, washingtonexaminer.com
