DOJ Moves to Charge Comey Again

The Justice Department filed a new legal motion on Monday to extend the time limit for prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey over a leak of classified information from 2016.

The move was revealed in court documents that had been under seal. It represents the latest legal action by the Trump administration against Comey, who has faced two other criminal cases since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.

The statute of limitations for this offense expires in October 2026. The Department of Justice filed what is known as a criminal information on October 6, 2016, according to the newly unsealed filing. This action is designed to toll, or pause, the clock on the prosecution period.

A department spokesperson stated that filing a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a widely recognized practice in federal court. The spokesperson added that the department is not commenting further because it is an ongoing criminal investigation.

Comey's legal team immediately disputed the validity of the move. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the government has attempted to charge Comey with a federal crime for the third time in less than a year. Fitzgerald noted that the applicable statute of limitations explicitly demands an indictment within ten years of the offense. He argued that an information does not suffice to meet this requirement.

The underlying allegation involves an October 2016 New York Times article. The story reported on a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order that required Yahoo to scan emails for messages linked to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors said evidence shows Comey directed his staff to speak to a journalist to correct misinformation, thereby illegally transferring classified information.

This matter was previously investigated twice without resulting in charges. A classified memo by prosecutor John Durham in December 2018 recommended no criminal charges. A second investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia, coded Tropical Vortex, was closed in February 2020 without any charges.

Comey, who served as FBI director under President Barack Obama and was fired by Trump in May 2017, said in a video statement that he is still innocent and not afraid. He called the new effort an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice. His lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss the information, a request that remains pending.