Prosecutors unseal a third criminal case against James Comey, over a 2016 New York Times story
NBC's report sets out both sides of the statute-of-limitations fight that will decide whether this case goes anywhere.
On October 26, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden unsealed a criminal information, filed October 5, charging former FBI Director James Comey with transmitting national defense information and conspiracy to do so. Prosecutors say Comey directed staff to talk to a New York Times reporter about the accuracy of an earlier Reuters report, which they say passed on classified information that appeared in an October 5, 2016 Times article about Yahoo and email surveillance.
Comey's lawyers have moved to dismiss, arguing the 10-year deadline required a grand jury indictment, not an information filed by prosecutors; the Justice Department says filing an information to pause the clock is a widely recognized practice. Comey can't be tried on the information alone unless he waives indictment. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, says two earlier prosecution teams declined to charge anyone over the article; Comey called the case "an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice" and said he is innocent. It is his third federal case: the first was dismissed and an April case over his "8647" seashell post is pending. The same day, a judge ruled his daughter, prosecutor Maurene Comey, was unlawfully fired and ordered her reinstated.
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Espionage Act of 1917
After exploring James Comey charged for a third time by the Trump administration, the century-old law behind the charges is the Espionage Act of 1917.
A federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I; amended many times, it now sits in Title 18 of the U.S. Code, chapter 37.
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