The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged former FBI Director James Comey for a third time, alleging that he leaked a sensitive national security document to The New York Times in October 2016.

The allegations are contained in court records made public late on Oct. 26.

The records show that prosecutors filed a two-count criminal information against Comey on Oct. 5—exactly 10 years after the alleged conduct. The information charges him under the Espionage Act with transmitting national defense information to a person who was not entitled to receive it, and with conspiring to do so. There is no grand jury indictment yet.

In a written opinion, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden granted Comey’s request to unseal files in the criminal case against him. The DOJ did not object to unsealing the court docket. The order did not address Comey’s pending motion to dismiss, which argues that only a grand jury indictment—not a criminal information—can keep the case alive once the 10-year statute of limitations has run.

Charges under the Espionage Act generally must be brought within 10 years of the date of the alleged criminal act.

The DOJ said it filed the criminal information to toll—or extend—the statute ​of limitations on the offense that would otherwise have expired earlier this month.

A DOJ spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the practice is widely recognized in federal court and has been “approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals.”

Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, the spokesperson said the department would not comment further.

The DOJ said in an Oct. 23 filing that the 2016 article, titled “Yahoo said to have aided U.S. email surveillance by adapting spam filter,” cited two unidentified “government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.”

The article contained classified information that was not supposed to be released to the public and was “significantly similar” to information that appeared in an internal government email that had been circulated mere hours before the article was published, according to the filing.

Prosecutors say Comey directed his staff to speak to The New York Times about accuracy concerns related to a Reuters article published the day before, and that this led to the unlawful transfer of sensitive information.

Comey reacted to the new charge in an Instagram video in which he said, “Well, 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’s legal team has asked a judge to throw the new charges out, arguing they are legally improper. One of Comey’s attorneys, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, said on Instagram that his client “steadfastly maintains his innocence.”

Fitzgerald confirmed the charges are related to the Oct. 5, 2016, New York Times article that prosecutors investigated during the first Trump administration but failed to act on.

Two other criminal cases against Comey are still before the federal courts.

The false statements case against him was dismissed in Virginia in November 2025. Comey had been charged with making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He provided testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020.

The indictment alleged that Comey misled Congress by claiming he had not authorized anyone else to be an anonymous source in news reports about an FBI investigation.

A district judge dismissed the case, finding that the prosecutor overseeing it had not been properly appointed. The government appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard arguments last month. The appeals court has not yet issued a ruling.

Comey has also asked a court in North Carolina to dismiss an indictment brought against him that alleges he threatened President Donald Trump.

Comey was charged after he posted a photo on Instagram in May 2025 showing seashells arranged to read “86 47.”

To “86” is to remove or get rid of someone, and the term has been used in some contexts as a euphemism for killing someone. The number 47 has been interpreted to refer to Trump, who is the 47th president.

Comey said he found the seashells arranged on a beach and took a photograph of them. He said he assumed the shells were intended as a political message and that he was making a political statement in opposition to Trump when he posted online. Comey subsequently deleted the post, saying he did not know at the time that “86” was associated with violence.

Comey argues the case is an example of vindictive and selective prosecution. The DOJ has denied that Comey is being prosecuted for his political views.