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James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is facing a third set of criminal charges under the administration of US President Donald Trump.
On Monday, sealed documents came to light showing that the Trump administration accused Comey of two charges related to the illegal dissemination of “information related to national defense.”
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Comey, a prominent Trump critic, was not charged in the case. He denied any wrongdoing.
But it is the third time the Trump administration has tried to bring criminal charges against the former FBI director since the president returned to office in January 2025.
In an October court filing, prosecutors accused Comey of ordering his FBI colleagues to leak information to the news media.
“The defendant [Comey] through one or more co-conspirators who directed Individual #1 to disclose national defense 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 condemned 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 wasn’t such an appalling abuse by the Justice Department, one that we can’t get numb to,” Comey said.
“Nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent, and I’m still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal courts.”
Comey also noted that Trump is only in the middle of his second term, and he hinted that he expects more criminal charges to come his way.
“The next few years are going to be difficult for all of us,” Comey added. “It’s really important that we stand up straight and keep the faith in America.”
The latest charges relate to a New York Times article dated October 5, 2016, which described how email platform Yahoo was ordered to scan traffic on its site for a specific computer signature allegedly linked to a “terrorist” organization.
Prosecutors accused Comey of directing sensitive information to be revealed to the reporter on that story, Charlie Savage.
In a statement released to the news, Comey’s defense attorney Pat Fitzgerald dismissed the allegations as weak, 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 prosecutors have 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 indict 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 he did not commit.”
Federal Judge Trevor McFadden, of the US District Court in Washington, DC, is overseeing the case. He is a Trump appointee.
Trump has long sought the prosecution of Comey, who fired him from the role of FBI director in 2017, during his first term as president.
Comey had been FBI chief since 2013. But his firing came as the FBI investigated the possibility of collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign — an investigation that Trump has repeatedly denounced as a “hoax.”
After Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, his administration sought the prosecution of several critics of the president, including Comey.
In September 2025, Trump appeared to request that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi look into Comey and other perceived political opponents.
“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 are all guilty as hell, but nothing is done.”
Trump ended his post by telling Bondi to “delay no more” before going after the three critics.
“JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW,” he wrote.
Five days later, on September 25 of that year, Comey was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing a legislative process.
The case was eventually dismissed on the basis that the prosecutor in charge, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally 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 shells arranged to form the message “86 47.”
Twenty-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 turning out a dish or customer.
The Trump administration, however, has argued that “86” implies violence. That case is ongoing.
Earlier Monday, before the third set of indictments was revealed, a federal judge ruled in a separate case that Comey’s daughter, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, was illegally fired last year under Trump’s second term.
The younger Comey claimed her termination was retaliation against her father. The court ruled that she was entitled to “retroactive judgment” and back pay.
James Comey has denied all allegations of criminal wrongdoing, and his legal team has sought to have the latest allegations dismissed.
