Judge unseals documents in new DOJ push to charge James Comey

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden unsealed court records on Monday, revealing that the Justice Department filed a criminal information against James Comey in early October. The move is the third attempt by federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against the former FBI director. The unsealing ends a month of behind-the-scenes legal battles between Comey's attorneys and federal prosecutors.

The criminal information was filed to preserve the statute of limitations before it expired, according to a Justice Department spokesperson. The Espionage Act violation carries a 10-year statute of limitations that runs out this October. The department argues that filing the information tolls that deadline. Prosecutors are seeking to charge Comey with two counts of transmitting national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it.

A criminal information does not require a grand jury vote or a magistrate judge's finding of probable cause. This procedural step allows prosecutors to keep a case alive without a formal indictment. The Justice Department stated in a social media post that this practice is widely recognized in federal court and has been approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals.

The case stems from events in October 2016. The New York Times published an article on Oct. 5, 2016, titled "Yahoo Said to Have Aided U.S. Email Surveillance By Adapting Spam Filter." The piece cited two unnamed government officials. The Justice Department alleges that Comey sought to correct misinformation from a previous Reuters article by directing staff to speak with the Times reporter.

Patrick Fitzgerald, Comey's attorney, said his client steadfastly maintains his innocence. Fitzgerald stated that the information purports to charge Comey with crimes he did not commit. He noted that investigators looked into the matter twice during the first Trump administration and determined that no charges should be brought against anyone.

Comey addressed the news in a video statement. He said, "well, they’re back again," referencing two prior attempts to charge him. Those earlier attempts included an accusation of lying to Congress and a still-pending indictment for threatening President Trump with a photo of seashells. Comey called the current effort an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice.

He added, "Nothing’s changed with me. I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid of these people and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary." The former director said he offered to self-surrender, a point Judge McFadden noted in his order to unseal the docket.

The charging documents were signed by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh. Several special assistant U.S. attorneys also signed the filing. These officials are not originally from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. The unusual signing block drew attention from legal observers.

Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general and defense attorney, told CBS News he had never encountered a criminal information filed to pause the statute of limitations. He said the maneuver seems like a way to do an end-run around the deadline. "This is just absolutely bizarro world stuff," Bromwich said.

In an Oct. 9 court filing, Comey's team argued the government filed a faulty information under seal. They warned of a potential after-hours arrest over a holiday weekend. The government agreed in an emergency hearing to hold off on seeking an indictment for 30 days. Judge McFadden did not rule on the merits of the case but noted that criminal charges against a former FBI director are of significant public interest.