Former FBI Director James Comey faces a third criminal case from the Justice Department

Washington — Former FBI Director James Comey is facing a third criminal case from the Department of Justice, according to court documents made public on Monday, October 26, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The documents charge Comey with transmitting and conspiring to transmit national defense information on October 4 and 5, 2016. According to Reuters, the case alleges he shared classified information with a reporter from The New York Times. The Justice Department explained that it filed the document, known as a “criminal information,” to toll the statute of limitations on the offense, a practice it described as widely recognized in federal courts.

According to Reuters, the document was filed on October 5 but was made public on Monday at the request of Comey’s lawyers. The former director responded the same day with a video posted on Instagram, in which he declared himself innocent and accused President Donald Trump’s administration of using the Justice Department for political purposes. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the document purports to charge Comey with crimes he did not commit and has already asked a judge to dismiss the case.

The new case came hours after a federal judge ruled unlawful the 2025 firing of Maurene Comey, the former director’s daughter and a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, a ruling A Lo Claro reported earlier on Monday. Comey had already been charged by the Justice Department in April and September 2025: the first case, for allegedly lying to Congress, was dismissed by a judge, and the second, related to a social media image of seashells reading “8647,” remains pending.

The Justice Department said only that it is an ongoing criminal investigation and that it will not comment further. Comey, for his part, promised to fight the new charges and urged his supporters to keep faith in the American judicial system.

Photo: The Washington Times

Source: USA Today