James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is facing a third set of criminal charges under the administration of United States President Donald Trump.
On Monday, sealed documents came to light showing that the Trump administration has accused Comey of two counts related to the unlawful dissemination of “information related to national defence”.
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Comey, a high-profile Trump critic, has not been indicted in the case. He has denied any wrongdoing.
But it is the third time the Trump administration has sought to level criminal charges against the former FBI director since the president returned to office in January 2025.
In an October court filing, prosecutors accuse Comey of ordering his FBI colleagues to leak information to the news media.
“The defendant [Comey] through one or more co-conspirators directed Individual #1 to disclose national defence information to a reporter for a national news publication,” the court filing reads.
In a video published on the online platform Substack, Comey once again denounced the Trump administration’s attempts to prosecute him as a campaign of political retribution.
“Well, now they’re back again. 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,” Comey said.
“Nothing’s changed with me. I’m still innocent, and I’m still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.”
Comey also noted that Trump is only midway through his second term, and he hinted that he expects more criminal charges to come his way.
“The next couple years are going to be hard for all of us,” Comey added. “It’s really important that we stand straight and keep the faith in America.”
The latest charges pertain to a New York Times article from October 5, 2016, which describes how the email platform Yahoo was ordered to scan traffic on its site for a specific computer signature allegedly tied to a “terrorist” organisation.
Prosecutors have accused Comey of directing sensitive information to be disclosed to the reporter on that story, Charlie Savage.
In a statement released to news media, Comey’s defence lawyer Pat Fitzgerald framed the charges as feeble, claiming that the government had already investigated the matter twice before.
“Both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone,” the statement said.
Fitzgerald pointed out that government prosecutors had not sought an indictment — which involves presenting charges to a grand jury, which must then choose whether to approve the criminal charges.
Instead, they are seeking to charge Comey through a process called a “criminal information”, which allows prosecutors to bypass a grand jury.
“Ten years after the article was published, the Government filed an ‘Information’ against Mr. Comey that was not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury,” Fitzgerald said. “It purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit.”
Federal Judge Trevor McFadden, from the US District Court in Washington, DC, is overseeing the case. He is a Trump appointee.
Trump has long sought the prosecution of Comey, whom he fired from the role of FBI director in 2017, during his first term as president.
Comey had been FBI head since 2013. But his dismissal came as the FBI investigated the possibility of collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign — a probe that Trump has repeatedly denounced as a “hoax”.
Following Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, his administration has sought the prosecution of several of the president’s critics, including Comey.
In September 2025, Trump appeared to request that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi look into Comey and other perceived political adversaries.
“Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia???” Trump wrote to Bondi in a social media post, referencing the former FBI director, a Democratic senator and New York Attorney General Letitia James. “They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
Trump concluded his post by telling Bondi not to “delay any longer” before pursing the three critics.
“JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW,” he wrote.
Five days later, on September 25 of that year, Comey was indicted on charges of lying to Congress and obstructing a legislative proceeding.
The case was ultimately dismissed on the basis that the prosecutor in charge, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed.
A second indictment came on April 28. In that case, the Trump administration accused Comey of threatening the president by posting a photo on social media of seashells, arranged to form the message “86 47”.
Forty-seven is a reference to Trump, the 47th president, and “86” is a rhyming word for “nix”, common in the service industry as code for throwing out a dish or customer.
The Trump administration, however, has argued that “86” implies violence. That case is ongoing.
Earlier on Monday, before the third set of charges was revealed, a federal judge in a separate case ruled that Comey’s daughter, former assistant US attorney Maurene Comey, had been unlawfully fired last year under Trump’s second term.
The younger Comey has maintained her termination was retaliation against her father. The court ruled she was entitled to “retroactive reinstatement” and backpay.
James Comey has denied all accusations of criminal wrongdoing, and his legal team has sought to have the latest set of charges dismissed.
