WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Justice Department unsealed charges against former FBI Director James Comey for the third time in little over a year, this time accusing him of leaking national defense information in 2016. Rather than seek a grand jury indictment, the Department quietly filed the charges under seal on October 5 – a full decade after the alleged conduct – seemingly in an attempt to sidestep the statute of limitations. The case became public just hours after a federal judge ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Comey’s daughter, former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey.
The new charges follow a familiar pattern. A federal judge threw out Trump’s first indictment of Comey in November 2025 after finding that his handpicked prosecutor had been illegally appointed. In April, Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, brought a second case over an Instagram post that legal experts warned could criminalize protected political speech.
In response, Not Above the Law coalition co-chairs Lisa Gilbert, Co-President of Public Citizen; Praveen Fernandes, Vice President of the Constitutional Accountability Center; Kelsey Herbert, Campaign Director at MoveOn; and Brett Edkins, Managing Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Stand Up America, released the following statement:
“Trump’s DOJ has now charged James Comey three times, and each attempt collapses in the same way: a baseless case designed to punish a man who wouldn’t pledge loyalty to Trump. Every time the courts throw one out, Trump’s Justice Department manufactures another. This is a vendetta, pure and simple.
“Comey is just one target in a growing list. Trump has deployed this same playbook against Letitia James, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Comey’s own daughter, and critic after critic: prosecute them, grab the headlines, and let the process itself become the punishment. Congress must demand answers, and the courts must shut down this abuse of power again. No president gets to weaponize federal prosecutors as his personal enforcers.”
For questions about our work to hold Trump accountable or to request an interview with a Not Above the Law coalition leader, please email press@focalpointstrategygroup.com.