DOJ moves to extend statute of limitations in Comey case

The Department of Justice filed a criminal information on Monday to extend the statute of limitations in a case against former FBI director James Comey. The filing seeks to allow prosecutors to pursue a decade-old leak of classified information, a step Comey's legal team immediately challenged as invalid under federal law.

Newly unsealed court documents revealed the procedural maneuver. The Justice Department stated it used the criminal information to toll the statute of limitations, a practice it described as widely recognized in federal courts. A department spokesperson noted that the agency is continuing a criminal investigation and will not comment further on the matter.

Comey's attorneys argue that the filing bypasses standard judicial review. They contend that the ten-year statute of limitations bars the government from bringing a criminal indictment for the alleged leak. Patrick Fitzgerald, who represents Comey, said in a statement that the Department of Justice has attempted to charge his client with a federal crime for the third time in just over a year. Fitzgerald maintained that Comey steadfastly upholds his innocence.

The former FBI director addressed the development in a video statement released Monday. He called the move an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice. Comey stated, “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 added that he remains innocent and unafraid, expressing continued belief in an independent federal judiciary.

This legal action represents a further escalation in the administration's prosecution of Comey, who has faced two other criminal cases since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. The first case, filed in federal court in Virginia, alleged that Comey lied to Congress in 2020. A judge dismissed that case after ruling that the prosecutor who brought the charges was illegally appointed.

A separate indictment is currently pending. That case charges Comey with threatening Trump through an Instagram photo of seashells arranged in the numerical order “86 47.” Comey has sought to dismiss this case, and some legal experts have viewed the charges with skepticism. The new filing regarding the statute of limitations adds a third legal front in the dispute between the former director and federal prosecutors.