Justice Department charges former FBI director James Comey for a third time over 2016 disclosure

Former FBI director James Comey has been criminally charged by the Justice Department for a third time, accused of leaking a sensitive national security document when he was FBI director in October 2016, according to court records made public on Monday, CNN reported (https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/26/politics/james-comey-charged?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_meta).

Comey is charged with transmitting national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it and conspiring to do so, Reuters reported (https://hi99.com/2026/10/26/ex-fbi-director-comey-charged-again-by-us-justice-department-nbc-news-reports/). The filing alleges that on 5 October 2016 he directed an individual, through one or more co-conspirators, to disclose national defense information to a reporter for a national news outlet, CNBC reported (https://ua.news/en/world/u-ssha-komi-visunuli-novi-obvinuvachennia-u-spravi-pro-oboronnu-informatsiiu-cnbc), with the 2016 date set out in the filing as reported by Badlands Media (https://badlandsmedia.tv/doj-charges-james-comey-over-disclosure-of-national-defense-information/).

The case was filed as a criminal information rather than a grand jury indictment: charges were first filed in the District of Columbia court on 5 October, and the case was unsealed on Monday, CNN reported. A Justice Department spokesperson said the information was filed to toll the statute of limitations, calling that a widely recognised federal practice, CNN reported.

Comey responded in a video posted online, saying “they’re back again” and calling the case “an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice”, while maintaining “I’m still innocent”, the New York Post reported (https://nypost.com/2026/10/26/us-news/ex-fbi-director-james-comey-facing-charges-for-third-time-by-trump-admin/).

The filing came hours after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration had unlawfully fired Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, from her job as an assistant US attorney, the Daily Caller reported (https://dailycaller.com/2026/10/26/james-comey-indicted-over-alleged-national-security-leak-to-press). A previous case against Comey was dismissed, CNN reported.