Former FBI Director James Comey faces two federal charges over an alleged 2016 disclosure of national-defense information; he denies the allegation and is asking a judge to dismiss the case.
The charges were filed confidentially in Washington on October 5. They were made public on October 26 at the request of Comey’s lawyers. Prosecutors accuse Comey of illegally sharing national-defense information with someone who was not allowed to receive it.
They also accuse him of conspiring to share it. The charging document alleges that Comey directed an unidentified person to share information with a reporter. Later court filings connect the allegation to a New York Times story about Yahoo and U.S. email surveillance.
The public charging document does not say what information was allegedly disclosed. It also does not name the person, reporter or publication. Comey’s lawyers argue that the case should be dismissed because the alleged conduct dates back ten years.
They say the government did not get a grand-jury indictment before the legal time limit for charging him expired. Prosecutors respond that filing a criminal information before that deadline preserves the case. Unlike an indictment, a criminal information does not require grand-jury approval.
Comey has said he is innocent. The allegations have not been proved in court.