Justice Department files third criminal information against former FBI director James Comey
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a third criminal information charging former FBI director James Comey with disclosing classified information, bypassing a grand jury, according to court documents released Monday.
The Justice Department filed a criminal information accusing former FBI director James Comey of disclosing classified national-security material, using a procedure that avoids a grand jury. The filing, unsealed in a Washington federal court on Monday, seeks to extend the ten-year statute of limitations for the case.
Comey responded in a video statement, saying the action was an "appalling abuse of the Department of Justice" and reaffirming his belief in an independent judiciary.
A department spokesperson said filing a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a recognized practice approved by multiple circuit courts and declined to comment further on the investigation.
The new filing follows two earlier cases against Comey: one alleging false statements to Congress about media leaks, which a judge dismissed, and another alleging threats made in a social-media post, which remains pending. Comey served as FBI director from 2013 until his dismissal in May 2017, a move that occurred amid the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.