Former FBI Director James Comey is charged with 2 federal crimes in Washington, D.C. It is his third case in a year: ‘Well, they’re back again’

A criminal information filed on Oct. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charges former FBI Director James Comey with two federal offenses. According to Mediaite, the charges concern the alleged unauthorized sharing of national defense information with a reporter. This is the third criminal case brought against him in about one year.

Prosecutors say Comey violated the Espionage Act by unlawfully transmitting national defense information to someone who was not authorized to receive it. A separate count accuses him of conspiracy to commit that same offense. The three-page filing does not name the reporter, the news outlet, any co-conspirators, or the specific information that was allegedly shared.

According to the prosecutors, Comey acted through one or more co-conspirators on Oct. 5, 2016, and directed a person labeled only as “Individual #1” to give national defense information to a reporter at a national news publication. The alleged conspiracy began no later than Oct. 4, 2016, and continued up to the day the information was filed.

Comey posts video response while attorney outlines prior cases and current defense

Comey answered the charges in a 35-second video he posted on Substack. “Well, they’re back again,” he said. “It would almost be funny if it weren’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice – one that we cannot become numb to. Nothing’s changed with me. I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary,” he continued.

“And I’m still lucky to have an amazing family and an incredible group of lawyers that will stand up in court and fight the latest, and whatever comes after this,” Comey concluded.

Under the Trump administration, Comey has already faced other criminal cases. One earlier indictment accused him of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding; those charges were later dismissed. In a different case, he was charged with two felonies over a social media post that showed seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47,” which was seen as a threat against Trump’s life by the prosecutors.

Even though the administration has suffered setbacks in its earlier attempts to prosecute Comey, it has continued to pursue legal action against the former FBI chief. The newest filing arrives after the Justice Department reportedly opened an investigation in late August into claims that Comey leaked classified information to the media. As part of that probe, a subpoena was issued to his former adviser, Daniel Richman.

Richman had previously said he shared the contents of one of Comey’s memos with The New York Times. The court document itself does not say whether the current charges grew out of that investigation.

Comey’s lawyer, Pat Fitzgerald, released a statement that CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on X. Fitzgerald said, “For the third time in little more than one year, the Department of Justice has attempted to charge Mr. Comey with a federal crime. Mr. Comey steadfastly maintains his innocence.”

He described the September 2025 case by saying the Department of Justice “used a person who was not actually a United States Attorney to seek an Indictment that was not actually shown to the grand jury. And it charged Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit. That case was promptly and properly dismissed.”

Fitzgerald also addressed the April 2026 charges filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Those involved “Mr. Comey’s posting of a photograph of seashells spelling ‘8647.’” He added, “We will not comment beyond our filings in that case.”

On the present matter, Fitzgerald said it concerns an October 5, 2016 New York Times article that two separate teams of prosecutors looked into during the first Trump administration. Both times, “the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone.”

He continued that, ten years after the article appeared, the government filed an “Information” against Comey “that was not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury. It purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit.”

Politico reported that the New York Times story described how Yahoo changed its spam filter to handle FBI surveillance requests. Prosecutors claim Comey allowed then-FBI General Counsel James Baker to leak classified material to the newspaper.

Comey’s attorneys maintain that the statute of limitations ran out on Oct. 5 and that the Justice Department tried improperly to get around the 10-year limit that applies to certain national security offenses. Fitzgerald closed the statement by saying, “We are gratified that United States District Judge Trevor McFadden has ordered this matter unsealed. Mr. Comey will fight these charges vigorously and in the open.”