Justice Department Charges James Comey Again Over National Defense Information

The Justice Department has charged former FBI director James Comey again, in a new federal case that accuses him of knowingly communicating information related to the national defense to a person who was not entitled to receive it, according to a court filing made public on Monday. CNBC reported that this is the third time Comey has been indicted on federal criminal charges. Reuters, citing an NBC News reporter, reported that Comey had been charged again by the Justice Department on Monday.

Comey responded in a video posted on Instagram. He said, in the words reported by Reuters, that "they're back again," and he referenced the Justice Department without giving further details. "I'm still innocent," he added.

What the complaint says

The charge appears in a short criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Case 1:26-cr-00229-TNM. The complaint is three pages long and names the defendant as James Brien Comey Jr.

The complaint says that on or about October 5, 2016, in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, Comey, while lawfully possessing and being entrusted with information relating to the national defense, and having reason to believe that the information could be used to injure the United States and to the advantage of a foreign nation, knowingly and willfully communicated that information to a person who was not entitled to receive it. The complaint cites Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 793(d).

Reuters and CNBC did not name the person who allegedly received the information.

The earlier cases

Comey, who served as the seventh director of the FBI, was fired by President Donald Trump on May 9, 2017. The first case accused Comey of lying to Congress. It was dismissed in November 2025 after a judge found that the federal prosecutor who secured the charges had not been lawfully appointed. Comey had pleaded not guilty in that case.

In a separate case, a grand jury in North Carolina indicted Comey on April 28, 2026, over an Instagram photograph he posted in May 2025 that showed seashells arranged to read "86 47." Prosecutors charged him with threatening to kill the president and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Comey pleaded not guilty, called the prosecution selective and vindictive, and is awaiting trial, with an arraignment set for January 2027, the New York Post reported on Monday.

The new filing lands on the same day that a federal judge in New York ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Comey's daughter, former Manhattan prosecutor Maurene Comey, in July 2025. That ruling is a separate civil case and does not decide anything in the criminal cases against her father.

What is known and what is not

What is known on Monday is narrow. The complaint cites one statute, Section 793(d), and dates the alleged conduct to on or about October 5, 2016, while Comey was still FBI director. No arraignment date was reported on Monday.

The charges are allegations. Comey has not been convicted in any of the three cases, and the first case against him was dismissed.