Comey charged a third time as statute of limitations runs out

Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey in federal court in Washington DC on 26 October 2026, alleging two counts of leaking national defense information and conspiring with an unnamed person to give it to a news outlet in 2016.

The case was filed as a criminal information rather than a grand jury indictment. Prosecutors took that route as they ran up against the statute of limitations on the alleged 2016 crimes. It is the third time the Justice Department has moved to bring criminal charges against Comey since last year.

The charging document provides few details about what Comey is alleged to have leaked. The government alleges he leaked the information in 2016 and conspired with an unnamed person to give it to a national news outlet.

Comey's attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the charges relate to a 5 October 2016 New York Times article that had already been investigated by prosecutors. Comey's lawyers said in separate court papers that the case stemmed from an alleged disclosure of classified information to the Times in October 2016, while he was head of the FBI. He is charged over allegedly leaking a sensitive national security document, allegations his attorneys said were investigated previously without resulting in charges.

Comey denied wrongdoing in a video posted on Substack, calling the charges "an appalling abuse" of the Department of Justice. "I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid of these people and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary," he said.

The procedural choice is the detail that stands out. A criminal information bypasses the grand jury step that ordinarily screens felony charges before they are brought.

The filing also tests whether the legal system can handle politically charged prosecutions without the usual grand jury check. Comey is a prominent critic of President Donald Trump, and the case is the third the Justice Department has brought against him.

The charges are allegations. Comey has not been convicted of anything.