Criminal information permits charges before prosecutors seek an indictment

A Justice Department spokeswoman said prosecutors filed a “waiverless criminal information” in federal court in Washington, D.C., to extend the 10-year statute of limitations so prosecutors could seek an indictment of former FBI director James Comey. A criminal information permits prosecutors to bring charges without first seeking an indictment, and the charging document was made public Monday.

“This is an ongoing criminal investigation, and we will not comment further,” the spokeswoman said. The newly public filings mark the Justice Department’s third attempt to prosecute Comey, this time over alleged leaks of national-defense information.

Prosecutors allege that Comey mishandled national security information in October 2016 and that the information ended up in a New York Times article, according to the charging document.

In a short video posted online late Monday afternoon, Comey said: “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. Nothing’s changed with me, I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.” He vowed to fight the charges and said prosecutors waited too long to bring them.

The documents were unsealed one week before the midterm election. The Wall Street Journal reported that the unsealing came as Trump and his allies had put increasing pressure on the Justice Department to punish his perceived adversaries; the outlet described that effort as having limited success.

Comey was appointed to the FBI by President Barack Obama and fired by Trump in 2017 while Comey oversaw the initial investigation into alleged ties between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia. The investigation continued through much of Trump’s first term.

The Justice Department secured an indictment against Comey in September 2025 on charges that he lied to Congress in connection with testimony at a 2020 hearing, days before the five-year statute of limitations was set to expire. A judge later dismissed that case after finding that the prosecutor who brought it was improperly appointed.

The same judge tossed a mortgage-fraud case against another Trump critic, New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, for the same reason. The Justice Department has appealed both dismissals.

Comey was separately charged in connection with a photo he posted in 2025 of seashells that said “86 47.” Trump officials said at the time that the post was a threat to encourage killing Trump: “86” is old-time slang for “get rid of,” and Trump is the 47th president. Comey denied those charges and said the cases were an attempt at political retribution. The seashell prosecution remains pending.

The newly unsealed charges came shortly after a judge ruled Monday that Maurene Comey was illegally fired from her job of nearly a decade at the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan. Maurene sued the Trump administration last year, alleging that she was abruptly fired not because of her performance but either in retaliation for her association with her father or because of perceptions about her political viewpoint.

Prosecutors have not yet sought an indictment in the new case. Comey said he would fight the charges.