DOJ files new legal move against James Comey

The Justice Department filed a legal document on Monday seeking to extend the deadline for prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey. The filing targets a leak of classified information that occurred in 2016. This action marks a new legal front in the administration's pursuit of the former director, who has faced two other criminal cases since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The department stated that it filed a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations. A spokesperson for the Justice Department explained that this practice is widely recognized in federal court and has been approved by multiple circuit courts of appeals. The department described the matter as an ongoing criminal investigation and said it would not comment further.

Comey’s legal team rejected the filing immediately. Patrick Fitzgerald, who represents Comey, said the department has attempted to charge his client with a federal crime for the third time in little more than one year. Fitzgerald argued that the government had previously determined that no charges should be brought against anyone in this matter. He noted that the new information was not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury.

The underlying allegation involves a New York Times story published in October 2016. The article reported on a secret court order that required Yahoo to scan emails for messages potentially linked to a foreign terrorist organization. The story cited two government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the order from a judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Yahoo was barred from publicly disclosing the order.

Federal authorities began investigating the FBI's October 5, 2016 disclosure to the New York Times in early 2017. Then-Special Counsel John Durham wrote a classified memo in December 2018 recommending no criminal charges against anyone in connection with the disclosure. In January 2019, the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia opened a second investigation under the code name Tropical Vortex. That investigation was closed without any charges filed in February 2020.

Comey responded to the news in a video statement released after the documents were unsealed. He said, "Well, they're back, again." He described the effort as an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice that the public cannot become numb to. Comey stated that nothing has changed with him, that he is still innocent, and that he is still not afraid of these people. He added that he still believes in an independent federal judiciary.

This is the third criminal case Comey has faced in the current administration. The first case was dismissed after a judge found that the prosecutor who brought the indictment was illegally appointed. In April, Comey was charged in a separate case over a social media post depicting seashells on the beach. Officials said that post constituted a threat against the president.

Comey served as FBI director when Trump took office in 2017. He had been appointed by President Barack Obama and previously served as a senior Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration. The relationship between the two men was strained from the start. Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his personal loyalty to the president. Comey documented that overture in a contemporaneous memorandum.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump's campaign. That inquiry was later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller. The investigation found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that the Trump team welcomed the help. However, the team concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration.