Federal Prosecutors: Ex-FBI Chief Faces Third Indictment Over 2016 Email Leak

James Comey, the former FBI director, faces a third federal criminal case filed by the Trump administration. Federal prosecutors charged him with transmitting information related to national defense and conspiring to transmit that information. The case has remained under judicial seal since October 5.

The charges stem from an article published in The New York Times on October 5, 2016. The piece, written by Charlie Savage, stated that Yahoo had assisted U.S. surveillance by modifying its spam filter. Special Deputy Federal Prosecutor Dustin Farahnak said the government’s investigation found evidence that Comey attempted to correct erroneous information reported by Reuters the day before. Farahnak noted that Comey instructed staff to speak with Savage about specific concerns regarding the accuracy of the Reuters piece, which led to the illegal transmission of classified data.

Comey responded to the news in a video shared on the Substack platform on Monday. He called the move a "gross abuse of the Department of Justice." Comey stated that he remains innocent and does not fear the individuals prosecuting him. He expressed his continued belief in the independence of the federal judiciary.

Defense attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the charges ten days ago. They argue the case is time-barred because the statute of limitations is ten years. Their legal team contends that the government had ten years to secure a formal indictment from a grand jury. They maintain that the document filed by prosecutors is an "information" rather than a grand jury indictment, meaning the case should be dismissed.

Prosecutors dispute this interpretation. They argue the charges were filed within the legal time limit and that the defense is misreading the applicable statutes. This is the third criminal case brought against Comey since the start of Trump’s second term. The first case was dismissed by a judge. The second case, filed in North Carolina on April 28, alleged that Comey threatened Trump by publishing an image of seashells arranged to form the number 8647.

Patrick Fitzgerald, Comey’s attorney, stated on Monday that the first case was dismissed because the Department of Justice used someone who was not a U.S. attorney to seek an indictment that was never presented to a grand jury. Fitzgerald noted that two separate teams of prosecutors investigated the 2016 article during Trump’s first term. In both instances, the government determined no charges were necessary. Fitzgerald said the new case seeks to charge Comey for crimes he did not commit. Comey has maintained his innocence in all three cases.

Trump fired Comey as FBI director in May 2017. This occurred after Comey launched an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump has frequently called for Comey’s prosecution, labeling him a corrupt cop and a sick person.