Key facts
- Lawyers for James Comey are seeking to dismiss a third criminal case against him.
- The Justice Department filed charges using a 'criminal information' over a news media leak.
- Comey's legal team argues the case is legally invalid.
- The alleged leak relates to a 2016 New York Times story about a secret court order for Yahoo to scan emails.
- Prosecutor John Durham recommended no charges in December 2018.
- A subsequent investigation by the US attorney's office in Washington, DC was closed without charges in early 2020.
Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey are scheduled to ask a federal judge on Friday to dismiss a third criminal case against him. The US Justice Department recently filed charges using a 'criminal information,' bypassing a grand jury, over allegations of a decade-old news media leak. Comey's legal team contends the case is legally invalid. The current allegation concerns a 2016 New York Times story about a secret court order requiring Yahoo to scan emails for messages linked to a foreign terrorist organization. Federal authorities, including prosecutor John Durham, investigated the disclosure starting in 2017, but Durham recommended no criminal charges in December 2018. A subsequent investigation by the US attorney's office in Washington, DC was closed without charges in early 2020.