US President Donald Trump’s administration is making another attempt to prosecute former FBI director James Comey over an alleged leak of classified information dating back to 2016.
According to the Associated Press, newly unsealed court documents reveal that the Justice Department is pursuing allegations linked to a New York Times report about secret government surveillance.
Prosecutors claim Comey directed staff to contact a journalist to correct inaccurate reporting, allegedly resulting in classified information being disclosed.
However, Comey’s lawyers argue that the prosecution is legally invalid because the government failed to secure a grand jury indictment within the required 10-year time limit.
The Justice Department maintains that filing a “criminal information” is an accepted way to extend the deadline for bringing charges.
Comey strongly rejected the allegations in a video statement on Monday.
“It would almost be funny if it weren’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice,” he said.
His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, confirmed that Comey maintains his innocence and is challenging the filing in court.
The allegations were previously investigated twice, with both investigations ending without criminal charges.
Trump, who fired Comey in 2017, told reporters he knew little about the latest case but described the former FBI chief as “a dirty cop”.
