James Comey faces third federal indictment over defense information leak

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey has been charged in a two-count federal indictment with unlawfully transmitting national defense information and conspiring to disclose it. The Washington Examiner, the New York Post, and msnbc.com reported that prosecutors filed the criminal charges in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on October 26, 2026. The charges mark the third time the Justice Department under the Trump administration has indicted Comey. [1][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Prosecutors allege that Comey knowingly and willfully shared sensitive defense information on October 5, 2016, while he was still leading the FBI. According to msnbc.com, the indictment alleges that Comey disclosed the information to a reporter. CNBC noted that President Donald Trump fired Comey from his post as FBI director in 2017. [1][5][6][7]

The news follows a separate federal court ruling on October 26 concerning Comey's daughter, Maurene Comey. The BBC, msnbc.com, and the Washington Times reported that Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired her from her position as a senior federal prosecutor in July 2025. Judge Furman ordered back pay and reinstatement. [2][3][4]

James Brien Comey Jr. served as the seventh director of the FBI from 2013 until his termination in May 2017. Nominated by President Barack Obama, his tenure was marked by counterterrorism initiatives as well as high-profile political investigations. [11][12]