Former FBI Director James Comey was criminally charged by the Justice Department for a third time on Monday, marking an extraordinary effort by the Trump administration to prosecute one of the president's biggest political enemies.
Comey is charged with allegedly transmitting national defense information when he was FBI director in October 2016, and conspiring to transmit national defense information.
The charges were filed in federal court in Washington, DC, and appear to stem from actions Comey took in his capacity as FBI director in October 2016 - exactly 10 years ago this month.
They also mark the third time Comey has been charged by the Justice Department since the start of Trump's second term.
Comey has not been indicted, and his lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the charges earlier this month.
Both parties are expected to appear Friday in federal court in Washington, DC.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department told the Daily Mail that prosecutors filed 'waiverless criminal information' to extend the 10-year statute of limitations as it relates to the alleged charges against Comey.
The spokesperson added that doing so is a 'widely recognized practice in federal court' and has 'been approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals.'
President Donald Trump shakes hands with then-FBI Director James Comey in 2017. Trump fired Comey the same year, well before the end of his ten-year tenure at the FBI
President Donald Trump is seen at a rally in North Carolina before the 2026 midterm elections
Do YOU trust the Justice Department to handle Comey’s case fairly?
Comey's lawyers refuted that notion.
Comey, who has denied any wrongdoing, responded to the new charges in a video statement Monday evening.
DOJ's latest actions 'would almost be funny,' Comey said, 'if it were not such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice - one that we cannot become numb to.'
'Nothing’s changed with me,' Comey said. 'I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary,' he added.
The news comes after Comey was charged by the Justice Department twice last year on allegations of making false statements to Congress, and later, for allegedly threatening Trump by way of a photo he shared on social media.
The first case was ordered dismissed by a federal judge, and Comey has pleaded not guilty in the second case - describing both efforts as the result of 'vindictive' and selective prosecutions by the Trump administration.
Few details have been made public about the new charges in Washington, DC.
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They were unsealed hours after a separate federal judge ruled that the Justice Department illegally fired his daughter, Maurene Comey, from her job as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York last July.
She was ordered reinstated to her role, with back pay.
The Justice Department has struggled more broadly during Trump's second term to bring charges against his perceived political foes, or extract the 'retribution' the president vowed while campaigning for a second term.
Early efforts to do so were ordered dismissed by federal courts, while other efforts - including the so-called 'grand conspiracy' probe in the Southern District of Florida - have struggled to advance in the face of prosecutorial hurdles and a string of high-profile departures.