Comey Seeks Dismissal of Third DOJ Case, Citing Missed Grand Jury Indictment Deadline
WASHINGTON, October 30, 2026 — Attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey are asking a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s latest attempted prosecution, arguing that prosecutors missed the legal deadline for obtaining a grand jury indictment over an alleged disclosure of national-security information a decade ago.
The dispute is before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington. It turns on an unusual charging choice by federal prosecutors and the legal distinction between a criminal information, filed by prosecutors, and an indictment, approved by a grand jury. As of Friday’s pre-hearing reporting, the judge had not ruled on the dismissal request.
What does the government allege?
The Justice Department alleges that Comey improperly transmitted, and conspired to transmit, national defense information to a New York Times reporter in October 2016. The allegation relates to coverage of a secret court order involving Yahoo and the screening of emails for possible connections to a foreign terrorist organization. Comey denies wrongdoing.
His attorneys say the underlying disclosure was previously investigated by two U.S. attorneys’ offices, with no charges pursued at the time. Prior decisions not to prosecute do not automatically prevent a new prosecution, but those investigations are part of the defense’s argument about the circumstances of the current case.
The grand jury deadline argument
The government filed a criminal information on October 5, 2026, ten years after the alleged conduct. Prosecutors say the filing preserved the case by stopping the limitations clock before it ran out. Comey’s attorneys argue the applicable extended ten-year limitations provision specifically requires a grand jury indictment, and that a prosecutor-signed information alone cannot satisfy that requirement.
The distinction matters. Federal felony prosecutions ordinarily require a grand jury indictment unless the defendant waives that right. The Justice Department has not yet obtained an indictment in this latest matter, according to reporting from the Associated Press, Reuters and CBS News. Comey’s lawyers say the charges are now time-barred; the government disputes that reading of the law.
In its response, the Justice Department maintained that use of an information to toll a limitations period is a recognized legal practice, and argued that there is not yet an indictment for Comey to ask the court to dismiss. The court will have to resolve whether this particular filing can preserve the alleged 2016 offenses under the relevant statutory language.
Why is this Comey’s third federal case?
Comey has faced two earlier criminal matters since September 2025. The first involved accusations concerning statements to Congress and was dismissed after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who brought the indictment had been improperly appointed; an appeal has been reported pending. A separate case involving an Instagram photograph of seashells arranged as “86 47,” which prosecutors construed as threatening President Trump, is still pending. Comey denies wrongdoing in the cases.
President Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017, and the two have remained outspoken adversaries. Comey’s legal team has accused the administration of politically motivated prosecution; the Justice Department maintains that its latest charging approach is lawful. Neither political motive nor the alleged underlying offense has been established by a final ruling in this new matter.
What happens next?
Judge McFadden is expected to hear the parties’ competing arguments on Friday. He could dismiss the charging document, allow the case to proceed toward a grand jury, or issue an order addressing the limitations question. A hearing is not itself a decision; any ruling must be confirmed from the court record or reliable subsequent reporting.
What it means
This is not simply a question of whether federal prosecutors believe a crime occurred. It tests whether the Justice Department followed the statutory procedure and deadline necessary to pursue an alleged offense from 2016. For the public, the critical distinction is that Comey’s lawyers have asked for dismissal, but that request is not a dismissal order.
Brownstone question: Should prosecutors be permitted to preserve a felony case by filing a criminal information without a grand jury indictment when a statute’s deadline is approaching? The answer depends on the governing law—and that is precisely the legal question before the judge.
