Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with a crime for the third time by the Trump administration's Justice Department, in a case accusing him of sharing sensitive national security information with a reporter a decade ago.
The new charges were revealed in a court document known as a "criminal information," filed in Washington federal court and made public on Monday, October 26. The document charges James Comey with transmitting and conspiring to transmit national defense information, alleging he shared classified information with a reporter from the New York Times in October 2016.
A filing made to beat the clock
The Justice Department said it filed the document to stop the 10-year statute of limitations on the offense from expiring earlier this month. The criminal information was filed on October 5 but was only unsealed on Monday, at the request of James Comey's lawyers.
A Justice Department spokesperson described the maneuver to halt the statute of limitations as a "widely recognized practice in federal court," adding: "This is an ongoing criminal investigation, and we will not comment further."
James Comey's lawyers have already asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing it is legally improper. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said in a statement that the document "purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit."
"I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid"
James Comey responded within hours in a video posted on Instagram, saying "they're back again" and insisting on his innocence.
"It would almost be funny if it were not such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice, one we cannot become numb to," James Comey said. "Nothing's changed with me, I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid of these people."
He promised to fight the latest round of charges — the third he has faced from President Donald Trump's Justice Department.
The third case against James Comey
James Comey was also charged by the Justice Department in April and September 2025. In the first case, which a judge dismissed, James Comey was charged with lying to Congress. The second case is still pending and alleges James Comey threatened to harm Donald Trump by sharing on social media an image of seashells reading "8647."
President Donald Trump has viewed James Comey as a foe since the former FBI director investigated links between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The same day his daughter won in court
The new charges came hours after a judge ruled that the Justice Department's 2025 firing of James Comey's daughter, Maurene Comey, was unlawful. Maurene Comey, a Harvard Law School graduate, was serving as a prosecutor in New York's Manhattan federal office. She previously brought criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell as well as music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The timing — a new prosecution of the father on the same day a court found his daughter's firing unlawful — is certain to fuel the debate over whether the Justice Department is being used as a political weapon, a charge the administration denies and James Comey has now repeated three times.
Sources: USA TODAY, 26 Oct 2026; Reuters, 26 Oct 2026.