Former FBI chief James Comey charged for third time by Trump administration

Former FBI chief James Comey has been charged for a third time by President Donald Trump's administration.

He is accused of transmission of national defence information and conspiracy to transmit national defence information.

A judge unsealed the details of the case on Monday and said the facts underlying the investigation had "been subject to considerable press coverage".

Referencing previous claims against him, Mr Comey said in an Instagram video, "they're back again" and insisted he was "still innocent".

"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 said.

Mr Comey said the next few years would be "hard for all of us" and that he wasn't afraid.

His lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the charges. The case is "time barred," they argue, because the government had 10 years to bring the case "by obtaining a grand jury indictment."

The charges stem from a 5 October 2016 New York Times article entitled "Yahoo Said to Have Aided U.S. Email Surveillance by Adapting Spam Filter".

Mr Comey is accused of directing staff to speak to the article's writer, Charlie Savage, to "correct misinformation" and "thereby illegally transferred classified information".

The details were set out in a filing, unsealed on Monday, by special assistant US attorney Dustin Farahnak.

The criminal case is the third to be brought against Comey since Trump's second term began.

More from Sky News:
US singer Chris Brown avoids jail over bottle attack
Woman treated for Ebola in Nigeria is evacuated to Switzerland

The first case was dismissed last year.

And the former FBI director was indicted over a photo he posted of sea shells spelling out "86 47".

Prosecutors claim the numbers were a coded threat against President Trump's life.

The case has been delayed until early 2027.

(c) Sky News 2026: Former FBI chief James Comey charged for third time by Trump administration