DOJ files sealed charges against James Comey in Espionage Act case

Former FBI Director James Comey faces a new criminal threat as the Justice Department filed a criminal information charging him with leaking classified information. The filing, unsealed by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden on Monday, marks the third distinct attempt by federal prosecutors to bring charges against the former director. Prosecutors are seeking to charge Comey with two counts of violating the Espionage Act by transmitting national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it.

The Department of Justice filed the information in early October to preserve the statute of limitations before it expires. The specific crime carries a 10-year limit, which would have run out in October of this year. A DOJ spokesperson stated that this is an ongoing criminal investigation and that the filing was necessary to toll the deadline. Unlike an indictment, a criminal information does not require approval by a grand jury or a finding of probable cause by a magistrate judge.

The case stems from allegations that Comey provided national defense information to an unnamed individual for disclosure in a newspaper in October 2016. Court filings indicate that The New York Times published an article on October 5, 2016, regarding Yahoo's role in U.S. email surveillance. The Department of Justice alleges that Comey directed staff to speak with the Times reporter to correct misinformation that had appeared in a Reuters report the previous day. Comey’s attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said his client steadfastly maintains his innocence and that the information purports to charge him with crimes he did not commit.

Legal experts described the procedural maneuver as rare. Greg Rosen, a former federal prosecutor, told CBS News he had never seen a criminal information used this way in D.C., particularly as a third attempt to charge the same man. Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, noted that such documents are typically filed when a defendant waives grand jury rights to plead guilty. He called the strategy a way to do an end-run around the statute of limitations to keep a case alive that deserved to die nine years ago.

Comey and the Justice Department fought in secret over the charging efforts for much of this month. On October 9, Comey’s legal team argued the government filed a faulty information under seal to toll the statute. They warned that the government planned to seek an arrest warrant immediately, which could result in an after-hours arrest over a holiday weekend. In an emergency hearing, the government agreed to hold off on seeking an indictment for 30 days. Judge McFadden ordered the docket unsealed, writing that criminal charges against a former FBI director are of significant public interest.

This is not the first time prosecutors have investigated the 2016 Times article. In 2017, former U.S. Attorney John Durham investigated the matter and determined no charges should be brought. A second investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, code-named Tropic Vortex, was closed in February 2020 without charges. The current filing was signed by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh, along with special assistant U.S. attorneys not originally from the D.C. office.

President Donald Trump said he had just heard about the case late Monday. He called Comey a dirty cop but said he knew nothing specific about the new filing. Comey has faced other legal challenges, including an indictment for lying to Congress in September 2025 and pending charges in North Carolina related to an Instagram post of seashells. The new information adds to a politically charged dispute that has spanned nearly a decade.