Breaking News · October 26, 2026, 6:20 PM CDT
As reported by CNBC:
Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged for the third time with federal crimes, according to a court filing unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., at Comey's request.
Comey is accused in the new case with knowingly communicating information related to national defense to a person not entitled to receive it. He is also charged with conspiring with others to violate the law against sharing such information.
The charging document, known as an information, says Comey, "through one or more co-conspirators," directed an unnamed individual "to disclose national defense information to a reporter for a national news publication."
According to a court filing by Comey, who is seeking to dismiss the new case, the information relates to the "alleged disclosure of classified information" to The New York Times on Oct. 5, 2016.
Comey's lawyers told a judge in that filing that the alleged disclosure "was investigated by two separate U.S. Attorneys over the past ten years.[1]
Video: CBS News, October 26, 2026 — “DOJ trying to charge Trump-foe James Comey for third time, records show”. Matched to this story by shared names and terms in its title; watch the original for full context.
Where It Happened
The pin marks Washington as named in the report, not an exact address. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors.
On the record
"It would almost be funny if it weren't such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice, one that we cannot become numb to," he said.[1]
The case is “time barred,” they argue, because the government had 10 years to bring the case “by obtaining a grand jury indictment.” The charges that were filed are a criminal information — essentially a charge filed by prosecutors, not a grand jury indictment — and should therefore be dismissed, they argue.[2]
How 5 outlets are reporting it
- DOJ charges ex-FBI Director James Comey in new case (CNBC)
- James Comey charged for a third time by the Trump administration (NBC News)
- Trump’s Justice Department brings charges against former FBI director Comey for a third time (Anchorage Daily News)
- Justice Department charges James Comey with sharing classified information (Politico)
- Ex-FBI chief Comey faces third prosecution attempt by Trump Justice Department (New Hampshire Union Leader)
What NBC News reports
Federal prosecutors have charged former FBI Director James Comey with transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit national defense information.
It’s the third federal case against Comey, who has been a longtime target of President Donald Trump since he initiated the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The case has played out under seal since Oct. 5.[2]
What is not yet confirmed
- Comey's lawyers told a judge in that filing that the alleged disclosure "was investigated by two separate U.S.[1]
What the official record says
We searched government, military, court and international-body sites for a statement or document on this story and found none published yet. The officials quoted in this report are quoted as the outlets reported them, so treat those statements as secondhand until the original is published.
How to Verify This Yourself
Each headline above links to that outlet’s own report. The quoted passages come from the first two of those reports that could be retrieved in full.
References
- CNBC. DOJ charges ex-FBI Director James Comey in new case. ↩
- NBC News. James Comey charged for a third time by the Trump administration. ↩
- the Senate site (judiciary). Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During…. Primary (official source) ↩
- The Guardian. Justice department charges ex-FBI director James Comey for third time. Related coverage (not quoted above) ↩
- PBS. Trump administration charges former FBI Director James Comey for the third time. Related coverage (not quoted above) ↩
Investigative methodology: this story was selected because 5 separate news organizations were reporting it at the same time. The quoted text is verbatim from the cited reports; nothing is paraphrased or added. Produced by scripts/breaking_news_monitor.py, not a language model.
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