Ex-FBI director James Comey 'facing criminal charges' over 'sensitive' data leaks

Ex-FBI director James Comey 'facing criminal charges' over 'sensitive' data leaks These latest counts mark the third time the United States Department of Justice has pursued legal action against President Barack Obama's FBI director since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term in office Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged for allegedly leaking sensitive national defence information, according to reports. The former FBI director was charged on Monday with two counts for the alleged leak of sensitive information to the New York Times, the New York Post reports. These latest counts mark the third time the Department of Justice has pursued legal action against Mr Comey since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term in office. Prosecutors accuse Mr Comey of “knowingly and wittingly” transmitting national defence information as well as conspiring to do so in a “criminal information” filing made in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The allegations cover a period from October 4 to 5, 2016. Mr Comey “through one and more co-conspirators directed Individual #1 to disclose national defence information to a reporter for a national news publication” in violation of federal law, according to prosecutors. The new charges stem from an article in the New York Times on October 5, 2016, headlined “Yahoo Said to Have Aided U.S. Email Surveillance by Adapting Spam Filter,” written by reporter Charlie Savage. “The United States’ investigation has uncovered evidence that former FBI Director, James B. Comey, sought to correct misinformation which had appeared in the press by way of Reuters the day before,” Special Assistant US Attorney Dustin Farahnak wrote in a filing, according to NBC News. “The investigation has uncovered evidence that Mr Comey directed staff to speak to Mr Savage about specific accuracy concerns related to the Reuters article, and thereby illegally transferred classified information.” The alleged sharing of information happened while Mr Comey was head of the FBI under President Barack Obama. Mr Comey was dismissed by President Trump in May 2017. “Well, they’re back, again,” Comey said in a video posted on his Substack, reported by the New York Post. “It would almost be funny if it wasn’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice, one that we cannot become numb to.” “Nothing’s changed with me,” the former FBI chief added. “I’m still innocent, and I’m still not afraid of these people and I still believe in the independent judiciary.” The case was filed under seal by the United States Department of Justice on October 5, 2026, and made public after Mr Comey’s lawyers filed a motion to unseal it. The former FBI director's attorneys have also asked the court to dismiss the case. A Justice Department spokesperson told The New York Post that the Department of Justice “filed a waiverless criminal information to toll the statute of limitations as it relates to allegations concerning former FBI Director Comey.” “Filing a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a widely recognized practice in federal court and has been approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals,” the spokesperson continued. “This is an ongoing criminal investigation, and we will not comment further.” The new charges against Mr Comey surfaced on the same day a US district judge ruled that the former FBI director’s daughter, Maurene Comey, was illegally fired from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York last year, reports add. The judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate Maurene Comey and provide her with back pay. James Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury last September on charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice. The case was dismissed after a judge ruled Lindsey Halligan, then US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was unlawfully appointed. The former FBI director was indicted again in April on charges of threatening to kill Trump in May 2025 when he posted a photograph on Instagram of seashells arranged to read “8647.” Mr Comey is still awaiting trial in the seashell case.