A renewed legal storm is gathering around James Comey, as federal prosecutors have reportedly moved forward with a second indictment tied to allegations that have shadowed him for years.
According to the New York Post, sources familiar with the matter said the Department of Justice brought new charges against the former FBI director, though specific details about the counts were not immediately available.
The development, initially reported by CNN, marks another turn in a case that had previously collapsed in court.
Comey, 65, was first indicted last September on charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice.
That case, however, was dismissed just two months later after a federal judge ruled that then-interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan lacked the legal authority to pursue the indictment.
The earlier charges stemmed from Comey’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, where he was questioned about alleged leaks connected to investigations into President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
During that hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz pressed Comey on whether he had ever acted as an anonymous source or authorized others to do so.
“On May 3rd, 2017, in this committee, Chairman [Chuck] Grassley asked you point blank, ‘Have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?’ You responded under oath, ‘Never,’” Cruz said.
“He then asked you, ‘Have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton administration?’ You responded again under oath, ‘No.’”
Cruz went on to highlight conflicting claims from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, noting that McCabe had said he shared information with reporters and that Comey was aware of it.
“Who’s telling the truth?” Cruz asked.
Comey responded, “I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.”
Despite those statements, Comey later acknowledged in separate testimony that he had shared information with Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor he described as a “good friend,” asking him to relay details from memos regarding interactions with Trump.
A 2018 Justice Department inspector general report also found that Comey and McCabe offered conflicting accounts about discussions involving media disclosures tied to the Clinton email investigation.
The original indictment had been filed just days before the statute of limitations was set to expire. After those charges were unsealed, Comey defended his actions publicly.
“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” he said in a video message.
With a second indictment now reported, the legal fight surrounding Comey appears far from over, raising new questions about the same controversies that first brought him under scrutiny.
