New: Comey Hit With Espionage Act Charges in Third DOJ Case

Former FBI director James Comey faces Espionage Act charges for the third case brought against him by the US Justice Department, after a criminal filing accusing him of passing national defence information to an unauthorised person was unsealed in a Washington federal court on Monday (Oct 26), Mediaite reported.

The three-page criminal information, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, contains two counts: unlawfully transmitting national defence information to an individual not authorised to receive it, and conspiring to commit the same offence. It was filed on Oct 5 without a grand jury indictment.

What the Comey Espionage Act charges allege

The case centres on a New York Times article published on Oct 5, 2016, about Yahoo’s assistance with US email surveillance. According to Mediaite’s account of the filing, Comey, acting through one or more co-conspirators, directed a person identified as “Individual #1” to disclose national defence information to a reporter for a national news publication on that date. The alleged conspiracy began no later than Oct 4, 2016.

The Daily Wire, citing NBC News, reported that the filing says Comey sought to correct misinformation that had appeared in a Reuters article published the day before. Neither outlet said what national defence information was allegedly disclosed.

Comey says he is innocent

In a 35-second video posted on Substack on Monday, Comey described the case as an appalling abuse of the Justice Department. “I’m still innocent,” he said, according to the Daily Wire.

His lawyer, Pat Fitzgerald, said in a statement that Judge Trevor McFadden had ordered the matter unsealed and that Comey “steadfastly maintains his innocence”. Fitzgerald said his client would fight the charges vigorously and in the open.

Comey’s lawyers have moved to dismiss the case, the Daily Wire reported. They argue the 10-year statute of limitations ran out on Oct 5, because the charges rest only on the alleged disclosure made exactly 10 years before the government filed its criminal information.

Third case against former FBI chief

The new filing follows two earlier prosecutions. A September 2025 case charging Comey with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding was dismissed. Fitzgerald said the department had used a person who was not actually a US attorney to seek that indictment.

In April 2026, Comey was charged with two felony counts in the Eastern District of North Carolina over a social media post of seashells arranged to read “86 47”, which President Donald Trump interpreted as a threat against his life, Mediaite reported.

Comey has denied wrongdoing in all three cases. Neither report gave a court date for the new case.

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