The Justice Department hit former FBI Director James Comey with new criminal charges under the Espionage Act, the latest in a series of actions against the prominent critic of President Donald Trump.
Federal prosecutors unsealed a new two-count criminal filing against Comey on Monday, charging him with illegally transmitting national defense information to The New York Times, in violation of the Espionage Act. The case marks the third federal prosecution brought against Comey during Trump’s second term.
Comey acknowledged the charges in a video message posted Monday on Substack.
“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,” he said. “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.”
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Comey still faces a separate charge in North Carolina, for a social media post that prosecutors say constituted a threat against the president’s life. A previous charge against Comey of making false statements to Congress was dismissed.
Also Monday, a federal judge ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, from her job as a federal prosecutor due to her perceived political beliefs.
The president has long held a grievance against Comey over the FBI’s initial investigation into whether Trump or his associates conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017, and has frequently called for his criminal prosecution.
The most recent case centers on a New York Times article published in October 2016, which Comey’s defense attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said was thoroughly investigated during the first Trump administration.
“Both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone,” he said in a statement sent to The Washington Sun. “Now, ten years after that article was published, the Government filed an ‘Information’ against Mr. Comey that was not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury. It purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit.”
Fitzgerald and Comey’s legal team asked a district court in Washington to dismiss the case earlier this month while it was still under seal. The DOJ responded arguing that the dismissal motion is premature.
This story has been updated with further information.
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