Justice department charges ex-FBI director James Comey for third time

The charges, filed in federal court in Washington DC on Monday, allege that Comey leaked information in 2016 and conspired with an unnamed person to give it to a national news outlet. The government has provided few details about the specific information allegedly leaked.

Comey's attorney Patrick Fitzgerald confirmed the charges relate to a October 5, 2016 New York Times article that had already been investigated by prosecutors. The case was filed through an "information" - a legal maneuver that bypasses grand jury approval but requires eventual grand jury indictment.

Legal maneuvering

"Ten years after the article was published, the government filed an 'information' against Mr Comey that was not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury. It purports to charge Mr Comey with crimes he did not commit," Fitzgerald said in a statement.

Comey's lawyers argue the indictment should be dismissed because the statute of limitations has expired and the matter had been twice investigated with no charges previously filed. They also contend the law requires an indictment, not an information, within the 10-year timeframe.

Political context

Trump fired Comey in 2017 during the investigation into potential collusion between Trump allies and Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Comey has since become an outspoken critic of the president.

This marks the third time the justice department has charged Comey. Previous charges for lying to Congress were dismissed due to unlawful appointment of the prosecutor, while an earlier case for posting a seashell formation spelling "8647" (interpreted as anti-Trump sentiment) was considered legally weak by experts.