Overview
- The Justice Department filed a criminal information under seal on Oct. 5 and a judge unsealed it on Oct. 26, alleging Comey knowingly communicated national defense information and conspired to do so in connection with a 2016 New York Times story.
- Prosecutors say the information was used to preserve the 10‑year statute of limitations and can substitute for an indictment, while Comey’s lawyers have filed motions to dismiss arguing the law extends the longer limitations only to grand‑jury indictments.
- U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden is scheduled to hear Comey’s motion to dismiss on Oct. 30 as the parties dispute both the statute of limitations and the unusual use of an information without a grand‑jury vote.
- The filing comes after earlier reviews of the same disclosure by prosecutor John Durham and a separate D.C. probe called Tropical Vortex that closed without charges, and it is the third federal case the DOJ has brought against Comey since September 2025.
- The case raises broader questions about charging norms and politicization because no grand jury has yet indicted Comey and media and legal observers differ on whether the DOJ’s procedural choice reflects legal necessity or an effort to press charges before limits expired.