Justice Department charges former FBI Director James Comey for third time

The Justice Department criminally charged James Comey over a decade-old allegation that he ordered his staff to leak classified information to a reporter, the third time that prosecutors have levied criminal allegations against the former FBI director.

Comey is charged over allegedly leaking a sensitive national security document when he was FBI director in October 2016, according to court records made public Monday, allegations that his attorneys said were investigated previously without resulting in charges.

“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,” Comey said in a video he posted online shortly after the indictment became public.

His defense attorneys, Patrick Fitzgerald and a team of lawyers, released a scathing joint statement calling the indictment an unprecedented and baseless prosecution.

"The Justice Department has thoroughly investigated these exact allegations years ago and correctly determined there was no basis for criminal charges," the attorneys said.

"Reviving a decade-old matter to bring charges now is an alarming weaponization of the judicial system."

The charges stem from events in late 2016 involving memos Comey wrote detailing private conversations with then-President-elect Donald Trump. According to the indictment, federal prosecutors allege that Comey directed a subordinate to share details containing classified information with a media outlet.

This marks the third time the Justice Department has brought separate criminal allegations against Comey during ongoing legal and political battles following his departure from the FBI in 2017.