Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey is facing a new set of federal criminal charges over an alleged disclosure of national defence information, marking the third time the US Justice Department has pursued a criminal case against him.
A court filing outlines two charges linked to an alleged disclosure of classified information to The New York Times in October 2016, when Comey was leading the FBI.
Comey, a longstanding critic of US President Donald Trump, has rejected the allegations, describing the prosecution as an abuse of the justice system. In a video shared on Substack on Monday, Comey maintained that he had committed no crime and expressed confidence in the independence of the federal judiciary. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said two separate teams of federal prosecutors had previously examined the alleged disclosure but concluded that criminal charges were unwarranted.
Fitzgerald argued that the latest filing accuses Comey of offences he did not commit. His legal team has since filed a motion seeking to have the charges dismissed.
The case was initiated through a criminal information, a formal charging document submitted directly by prosecutors without requiring a grand jury indictment. Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner questioned whether the government had filed the charges within the applicable 10-year statute of limitations. He suggested that the timing could strengthen Comey’s bid to have the case thrown out.
Kirschner also characterised the prosecution as politically motivated, linking it to Trump’s longstanding hostility towards the former FBI director.
Comey was dismissed from his position by Trump in 2017 after the FBI began investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Since leaving office, Comey has faced several legal battles during Trump’s presidency.
In September 2025, a federal grand jury indicted him on allegations of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He pleaded not guilty, but the case was dismissed in November 2025.
In April 2026, Comey surrendered to authorities over a separate case arising from a social media post he published in 2025. The post featured seashells arranged to display the numbers “86 47”. Prosecutors interpreted the message as a potential threat against Trump, the 47th US president, noting that the expression “86” can mean to remove or get rid of something or someone.
Comey denied intending to threaten the president, saying he did not understand the significance attributed to the numbers. He also accused the administration of targeting him for political reasons. That case remains ongoing.
The latest development came on the same day a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, who previously worked as a federal prosecutor in New York. Maurene was dismissed from her position in July 2025 and subsequently sued the government, arguing that her removal was unlawful and connected to her father’s history with Trump and her perceived political affiliations.
The judge ruled on Monday that the government must restore her position and provide back pay for the period she was out of office.
The parallel legal developments have renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration’s treatment of the former FBI director and his family, as Comey prepares to challenge the latest charges in court.
