Former FBI Director James Comey is due before a federal judge Friday as he challenges whether prosecutors met the 10-year deadline for a case tied to an alleged 2016 disclosure.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a criminal information under seal on Oct. 5, 2026, and it was later unsealed. The document brings two counts under 18 U.S.C. Section 793, alleging that Comey transmitted national-defense information and conspired to do so. Prosecutors allege he directed staff to discuss concerns about a Reuters report with New York Times reporter Charlie Savage, thereby disclosing classified information.
Comey’s lawyers say Section 19 of the Internal Security Act required an indictment to invoke the 10-year period for these charges. Since prosecutors filed an information on the anniversary of the alleged conduct, they argue, the filing did not preserve the case. The Justice Department reads a separate federal statute as allowing an information to meet the deadline. It also says Comey’s request is premature because the court has no indictment to dismiss. EconoTimes previously covered the dispute over whether the filing met the 10-year deadline.
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 7 generally requires an indictment for a felony unless the defendant waives that right in open court. Comey’s lawyers say he did not waive it. They say that at an Oct. 9 emergency hearing, prosecutors agreed to pause any effort to seek an indictment for 30 days while the dismissal request was under consideration.
His lawyers also say two earlier investigations into the alleged disclosure ended without charges. They cite 2022 testimony from former FBI General Counsel James Baker, who said he believed the information was no longer classified and its disclosure was authorized. The Associated Press reported that this is the third federal case against Comey since 2025. The Associated Press also reported that a case accusing him of lying to Congress was dismissed after a judge found the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed, while a separate case over an Instagram photo of seashells remains pending.
The Associated Press and CBS News reported that U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden is scheduled to hear arguments Friday, Oct. 30.
