James Comey charged in third federal case, accused of sharing national defense information

What we know

• Federal prosecutors have charged former FBI Director James Comey in a criminal information with two Espionage Act counts: transmitting national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it, and conspiring to do so, CBS News and NBC News reported Monday, Oct. 26.
• A criminal information is a charging document that prosecutors file on their own, without a grand jury vote. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Comey has not been indicted by a grand jury in this case, CBS News and NBC News reported.
• It is the third federal criminal case brought against Comey since September 2025, according to NBC News and CNBC.
• The charges are allegations. Comey is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Federal prosecutors have charged former FBI Director James Comey with sharing national defense information with someone who was not authorized to receive it, according to a court filing made public Monday, NBC News and CNBC reported.

The criminal information alleges that Comey, acting "through one or more co-conspirators," directed an unnamed person to pass national defense information to a reporter at a national news publication, CNBC reported. That person has not been publicly identified.

According to the filing, as reported by Mediaite and Fox News, the alleged disclosure dates to 2016. Prosecutors allege that on Oct. 5, 2016, Comey, "through one or more co-conspirators," directed a person identified only as "Individual #1" to give national defense information to a reporter. The filing alleges the conspiracy began no later than Oct. 4, 2016, and continued through the date the charges were filed. The three-page document is a criminal information, according to Mediaite and CBS News.

The charges stem from an Oct. 5, 2016, New York Times article by reporter Charlie Savage about Yahoo helping with U.S. email surveillance, NBC News reported. In a filing unsealed Monday, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Farahnak wrote that investigators found evidence Comey wanted to correct a Reuters report from the day before. The filing alleges he directed staff to speak to Savage about specific accuracy concerns with that report and, in doing so, illegally passed on classified information, according to NBC News.

The case has been under seal since Oct. 5, according to NBC News.

What does Comey say?

Comey responded Monday in a video posted on Substack, NBC News and CNBC reported. He called the new case an abuse of the Justice Department and said nothing has changed for him. "I'm still innocent," he said. He added that he is not afraid and still believes in the independent federal judiciary, and that he and his lawyers will fight the charges in court.

His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said Comey firmly maintains his innocence, CBS News reported. Fitzgerald said the charges relate to the Oct. 5, 2016, New York Times article, which prosecutors had already investigated, according to The Guardian. He said investigators looked into the matter twice during Trump's first term and decided no one should be charged, CBS News reported.

Why his lawyers say the case is too late

Comey's lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the case about 10 days ago, NBC News reported. Their argument is about timing. Both charges rest on the alleged disclosure on Oct. 5, 2016, and the government had 10 years to bring the case by getting a grand jury to approve the charges, they argue. Instead, prosecutors filed a criminal information. The defense says that filing does not stop the 10-year clock, so the time limit has run out. Prosecutors say the charges were filed on time and that Comey's lawyers are misreading the law, NBC News reported.

The Justice Department says it filed a "waiverless" criminal information to toll, or preserve, the 10-year statute of limitations, CBS News and CNN reported. A department spokesperson said the practice is widely recognized in federal court and has been approved by several federal appeals courts, and that the department would not comment further on an ongoing investigation. The department says it is still seeking to bring the case to a grand jury, CNN reported. As of 6:43 p.m. ET, no court date had been announced.

What we don't know yet

• What classified information prosecutors say was shared. The filing does not specify it, according to Mediaite.
• Who "Individual #1" and the alleged co-conspirators are. They have not been publicly identified. NBC News has linked the case to the Times article by Savage, though the filing itself does not name the reporter or the publication, according to Mediaite.
• When Comey will appear in court, and how a judge will rule on the motion to dismiss.
• Whether a judge will agree that the case was filed too late.

The other cases

In September 2025, a federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Comey on charges of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding. A federal judge dismissed that case in November 2025.

In April 2026, a grand jury in North Carolina indicted him on charges tied to a 2025 Instagram post showing seashells arranged as "86 47," which prosecutors say was a threat against President Donald Trump. Comey has denied wrongdoing in that case and is seeking to have it thrown out, CNBC reported.

Separately, Bloomberg reported in April that federal prosecutors in Virginia had revived an inquiry tied to documents Comey shared with his longtime friend Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor. It is not clear whether that inquiry is connected to the new case.

The case became public hours after a federal judge in Manhattan ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Comey's daughter, former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey. That split ruling granted her retroactive reinstatement and back pay through Dec. 20, 2025, so she is not returning to the department, and her First Amendment claim is still pending. Read our story on that ruling.

*Credits: reporting from NBC News, CBS News, CNN, CNBC, the Associated Press, The Guardian, Mediaite, Fox News, the U.S. Department of Justice and Bloomberg. Photo: Federal Bureau of Investigation, public domain. NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*

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