Comey charged: Third federal case targets 2016 email disclosures

Federal prosecutors filed a third criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey on Monday, alleging he transmitted national defense information without authorization. The charges stem from events in October 2016, when Comey was still leading the agency. This marks the most recent legal action in a series of prosecutions initiated under the second Trump administration.

The case had remained under judicial secrecy since October 5. Assistant Special Counsel Dustin Farahnak, in a declassified document, stated that Comey attempted to correct inaccurate press reports by instructing staff to contact New York Times reporter Charlie Savage. Farahnak said this interaction led to the illegal transmission of classified information. The government argues that these actions constitute a conspiracy to transmit national defense information.

Defense lawyers argue the case is time-barred. They filed a motion to dismiss the charges ten days after the case was unsealed. Their legal argument centers on the ten-year statute of limitations for this offense. They contend that the government failed to secure a formal indictment from a grand jury within that period. Instead, prosecutors submitted a charging document, which defense counsel Patrick Fitzgerald says is not a valid indictment under the relevant laws.

Comey responded to the news in a video posted on the platform Substack on Monday. He described the new charges as a "terrible abuse" of the Department of Justice. "I am still innocent," Comey said. "I am not afraid of these people and I still believe in the independence of the federal judiciary." He noted that while the timing might seem amusing, the situation requires a strong public response.

The underlying incident involves a New York Times article published on October 5, 2016. Written by Charlie Savage, the piece discussed how Yahoo had adapted its spam filter to aid U.S. email surveillance. Comey's office sought to clarify details reported earlier by Reuters. Fitzgerald noted that two different teams of prosecutors investigated this matter during Trump's first term. In both instances, the government determined that no charges were warranted.

Fitzgerald stated that the current prosecution is based on a "charging document" that was neither approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury. He argued that the government is attempting to charge Comey with crimes he did not commit. The defense emphasized that the article was published exactly ten years before the formal accusation, making the statutory timing a central point of contention in the case.

This is the third criminal case filed against Comey during the current administration. The first case was dismissed by a judge after the Department of Justice used a non-United States attorney to seek an indictment that was never presented to a grand jury. The second case, filed on April 28 in North Carolina, involved Comey's publication of a photo of seashells arranged to form the number 8647. Trump, who fired Comey in May 2017, has frequently called the former director a "corrupt cop" and a "sick person." Comey has maintained his innocence in all proceedings.