Former FBI Director James Comey Faces Third Set of Federal Charges in Trump Administration’s Ongoing Cases
Former FBI Director James Comey is now facing his third round of federal criminal charges under the Trump administration, unsealed on October 26, 2026. Prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia filed a criminal information accusing him of unlawfully transmitting national defense information and conspiring to do so. The filing, made under seal on October 5, relates to an alleged 2016 disclosure to a New York Times reporter while Comey still led the FBI.
This brings the total active or recently dismissed matters against Comey to three distinct cases spanning different jurisdictions and alleged offenses.
Latest Charges: Alleged 2016 National Defense Information Leak
Prosecutors charged Comey with two counts under the Espionage Act (18 U.S.C. § 793):
Willful transmission of national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it.
Conspiracy to transmit such information.
The allegations center on an October 5, 2016, New York Times article about a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order that required Yahoo to scan emails for messages linked to a foreign terrorist organization. Court filings state that Comey, while FBI director, directed staff through co-conspirators to share information with reporter Charlie Savage to correct perceived inaccuracies in a prior Reuters story. The information allegedly matched details from an internal government email.
Unlike prior cases, the government filed this as a criminal information rather than a grand jury indictment. The Justice Department said the filing was made to toll (pause) the 10-year statute of limitations on Espionage Act offenses, which was set to expire around the date of the alleged conduct. Comey’s lawyers have moved to dismiss, arguing the statute requires an indictment within 10 years and that an information is insufficient. They also note that earlier investigations under the first Trump administration reviewed the same matter and declined to bring charges.
Comey responded in a video statement: “They’re back again. It would almost be funny if it weren’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice… Nothing’s changed with me. I’m still innocent.” His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the filing “purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit.”
Pending North Carolina Case: The “86 47” Seashell Instagram Post
In April 2026, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted Comey on two counts stemming from a May 15, 2025, Instagram post. The post showed seashells arranged on a beach to form the numbers “86 47.”
The indictment charges:
Threatening to take the life of, or inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States (18 U.S.C. § 871).
Transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Prosecutors argued that a reasonable person familiar with the circumstances would interpret “86 47” as a serious expression of intent to harm then-President-elect or President Trump. Comey has denied the charges constitute a threat and has sought dismissal, calling the prosecution vindictive. The case remains pending, with proceedings delayed into 2027.
Earlier Virginia Case: False Statements and Obstruction (Dismissed, Under Appeal)
In September 2025, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Comey on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. The allegations concerned his 2020 testimony about whether he had authorized anyone at the FBI to serve as an anonymous source for media reporting on investigations.
A federal judge dismissed the indictment in November 2025, ruling that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan had been unlawfully appointed. The Justice Department is appealing that decision. Comey pleaded not guilty before the dismissal.
Comey’s Prior Public Admission of a Different Leak
Separately, in June 2017 Senate testimony, Comey publicly acknowledged that he directed his friend, Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman, to share the contents of one of his personal memos with a New York Times reporter. The memo concerned a February 2017 conversation with then-President Trump about Michael Flynn. Comey said he wanted the information in the “public square” to help prompt a special counsel appointment. A 2019 DOJ Inspector General report found that Comey violated FBI policies by retaining and facilitating the disclosure of the memos but concluded there was no evidence classified information reached the media. That episode is distinct from the 2016 Yahoo-related disclosure now charged in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors will likely argue that this earlier public admission that he leaked, or caused to be leaked, sensitive information shows a pattern of behavior.
Current Status
Comey maintains his innocence across the cases and has described the prosecutions as an abuse of the Justice Department. Two of the three matters remain active in some form: the North Carolina indictment and the newly unsealed D.C. information (with a pending motion to dismiss on statute-of-limitations grounds). The Virginia case is dismissed pending appeal. The Justice Department has characterized the filings as ordinary law enforcement actions; Comey and his counsel have called them politically motivated.
The cases continue to move through the courts.
