The charges mark the third time the Justice Department has brought a criminal case against Comey during President Donald Trump's second term.

Comey is already under indictment on charges that he threatened the president by posting a photo of seashells arranged to read "86 47." A previous indictment accusing Comey of lying to Congress was dismissed.

The new charges allege that Comey, through one or more co-conspirators, directed an unnamed person to disclose national defense information to a reporter for a national news publication in 2016.

The case was assigned to US District Judge Trevor McFadden of the District of Columbia, a Trump appointee.

"The Department filed a waiverless criminal information to toll the statute of limitations as it relates to allegations concerning former FBI Director Comey," the Justice Department's rapid response account said in a post on X.

"Filing criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a widely recognized practice in federal court and has been approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals," the post continues. "This is an ongoing criminal investigation, and we will not comment further."

The criminal information was unsealed just hours after a judge ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, the former FBI director's daughter, from her position as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York.

The two-count criminal information, which was not approved by a grand jury, alleges that Comey knowingly communicated national defense information to someone not authorized to receive it and conspired to violate the law. The alleged disclosure occurred on Oct. 5, 2016.

Comey's lawyers have moved to dismiss the case, and argued the filing did not stop the 10-year statute of limitations from expiring since Comey did not waive his right to a grand jury indictment.

Comey was appointed FBI director by President Barack Obama. He oversaw an FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible coordination between Russia and members of Trump's campaign. After becoming president, Trump initially kept Comey in the job but fired him in 2017. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Fred Lucas is senior investigative reporter for the Daily Signal. He is the author of "The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left's Assault on Clean Elections."

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