Comey Charged a 3rd Time Over a 2016 Leak to The New York Times

What happened

James Comey, who led the FBI until 2017, now faces a third set of federal charges. A two-count filing, kept under seal since Oct. 5, was made public on Monday, Oct. 26, by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington, D.C. It accuses Comey of transmitting national defense information to someone not entitled to receive it and of conspiring to do so, according to NBC News. CBS News describes both counts as Espionage Act charges.

Comey denies wrongdoing. In a video posted Monday he said nothing had changed and that he is “still innocent,” AP reported. The Justice Department called it “an ongoing criminal investigation” and declined further comment.

What the Comey charges are about

The case reaches back a decade. In a separate filing on Oct. 23, prosecutors tied it to an Oct. 5, 2016, New York Times story by Charlie Savage reporting that Yahoo had helped U.S. authorities search customer emails under a secret order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

According to NBC, prosecutors say Comey wanted to correct a Reuters report published the day before and told staff to talk to Savage about it, and that classified information was passed along in the process. The three-page charging document itself names no reporter or outlet; it refers only to an unnamed “Individual #1” who it says was directed to share the information with a reporter.

The same leak was examined twice during Trump’s first term. AP reports that a probe led by John Durham produced a December 2018 memo recommending no charges, and a second investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington closed in February 2020, also without charges.

Information vs. indictment: why the paperwork matters

Most federal felony cases start with a grand jury indictment. This one started with a criminal information, a charge prosecutors can file on their own. AP and CBS note that an information is usually filed with the defendant’s agreement, often as part of a plea deal.

The timing explains the choice. The alleged disclosure happened on Oct. 5, 2016. The deadline for these charges is 10 years. Prosecutors filed on Oct. 5, 2026, exactly 10 years later.

• The government’s position: the Justice Department says filing a “waiverless” information pauses the clock while the case continues, a practice it says several federal appeals courts have accepted, per NBC and AP.
• The defense position: Comey’s lawyers, in a motion filed Oct. 16, argue the 10-year limit can be met only by a grand jury indictment, and they asked the judge to throw out the case as “time barred,” Law&Crime reports.

There is a practical catch, too. NBC reports that Comey cannot be arrested, arraigned or put on trial on the information alone. Prosecutors would still need a grand jury indictment, if the court allows it, unless Comey agrees to waive one.

Three cases in 13 months

Who says what

Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, told AP the filing was “not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury” and said Comey will fight the charges in the open. Comey called the effort “an appalling abuse” of the Justice Department, NBC reported, and Al Jazeera reports he described the cases as political retribution.

The Justice Department has denied prosecuting Comey for his political views. President Donald Trump, who fired Comey in 2017, has repeatedly attacked him, but no new White House statement on this filing appeared in the coverage reviewed for this explainer.

On the same day, a federal judge in New York ruled that Comey’s daughter, former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, was unlawfully fired in July 2025, CBS News reported. The Justice Department said it would appeal.

What happens next

No court date has been reported. The first question is legal, not factual: Judge McFadden must decide whether the information was enough to stop the statute-of-limitations clock. If he agrees with the defense, the case likely ends there. If he sides with the government, prosecutors would still have to seek an indictment before a trial could happen. The North Carolina case and the appeal of the Virginia dismissal continue separately.

Quick answers

Was James Comey indicted again?

No. He was charged by criminal information, which prosecutors file without a grand jury. A grand jury has not indicted him in this case.

What is Comey accused of leaking?

Prosecutors say classified details reached a New York Times reporter for an October 2016 story on Yahoo and a secret surveillance court order. Comey says he is innocent.

Why does the statute of limitations matter?

The limit for these charges is 10 years, and the alleged leak was Oct. 5, 2016. The case depends on whether the Oct. 5, 2026, filing counts in time without an indictment.