Comey's lawyers reject new DOJ charges over 2016 Yahoo leak

The Department of Justice filed a criminal information on Monday to restart the clock on prosecuting James Comey for a 2016 leak of classified information. The move seeks to extend the ten-year statute of limitations, a procedural step that Comey's legal team argues is invalid without a judge or grand jury approval.

The newly unsealed court documents reveal a closed-door legal battle that marks a sharp escalation in the administration's pursuit of the former FBI director. This action arrives just one week before the midterm elections, adding to a series of politically charged investigative measures the department has initiated recently.

Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017, has faced two other criminal cases since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. In a video statement released after the documents were made public, Comey described the new effort as an "appalling abuse of the Department of Justice." He stated that he remains innocent and unafraid of the officials pursuing him.

"Well, they're back, again," Comey said in the video. "I still believe in an independent federal judiciary." The Justice Department spokesperson noted that filing a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a widely recognized practice in federal court. The department characterized the matter as an ongoing criminal investigation.

The specific allegation centers on an October 2016 New York Times article. The story detailed a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order requiring Yahoo to scan emails for messages linked to a foreign terrorist organization. The report cited two anonymous government officials who discussed the order, which Yahoo was barred from disclosing publicly.

Federal authorities began investigating the FBI's October 5, 2016, disclosure to the newspaper in early 2017. Then-Special Counsel John Durham wrote a classified memo in December 2018 recommending no criminal charges against anyone connected to the disclosure. A second investigation, dubbed "Tropical Vortex," was opened by the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia in January 2019 but closed without charges in February 2020.

Patrick Fitzgerald, Comey's attorney, said in a statement that this is the third time in slightly over a year that the Justice Department has attempted to charge his client with a federal crime. Fitzgerald emphasized that previous government reviews determined no charges should be brought. He argued that the current information purports to charge Comey with crimes he did not commit, ten years after the original article was published.

Comey was appointed by President Barack Obama and had previously served as a senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush. His relationship with Trump strained early in the administration after Comey resisted a request for personal loyalty during a private dinner. Trump fired Comey in May 2017 while the FBI investigated potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, an inquiry that later found Russia interfered in the election but lacked evidence of criminal collaboration.