Justice Department charges former FBI boss James Comey for third time

Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with allegedly leaking national defense information, according to New Straits Times. The unsealed criminal complaint alleges that Comey communicated information to an unauthorized person in October 2016 while serving as head of the FBI. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Comey denies these accusations. PBS NewsHour notes that the Trump administration is using the maneuver of bypassing a grand jury to prosecute Comey for the disclosure of classified information.

In a Monday Substack post, Comey criticized the charges, stating it would be almost funny if it were not an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice. The Hill reports that Comey stated nothing has changed with him regarding the situation.

This marks the third criminal case brought against Comey by the Trump administration, according to New Straits Times. His previous legal issues included a case for making false statements to Congress, which a federal judge threw out, and an April indictment for allegedly threatening the life of Donald Trump in an Instagram post.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, New Straits Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, PBS NewsHour — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.