Judge Weighs Comey Bid to Dismiss Third Prosecution as DOJ Signals Possible New Indictment

Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey asked U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden on Friday to dismiss the third criminal case the Trump administration has brought against him, arguing the Justice Department waited too long to file. The charges, filed in early October, accuse Comey of conspiring in 2016 to share national defense information with a media outlet to correct reporting by another outlet. They were filed by an information, so no judge or grand jury approved them, on the last day of a 10-year deadline under the Espionage Act. Prosecutors told the court they are working to obtain a grand jury indictment based on new evidence and are considering alleged crimes after October 2016, which would extend the limitations period. They said the prosecutor who examined the matter declined to bring charges in 2018, and a later second investigation during Trump's first term also ended without charges. McFadden, a Trump appointee, also warned the department he would be extremely frustrated if Comey were arrested in a predawn raid.

Left-leaning outlets MS NOW and Raw Story frame the hearing around Comey's effort to defeat what MS NOW calls his third case, and Raw Story leads with the Trump-appointed judge's warning about a "dawn raid" on a presidential enemy. Neither excerpt mentions the prosecution's new evidence. Right-leaning Just the News leads with the Justice Department's disclosure that it may seek further charges, presenting the new information and the possible indictment as the main development. It supplies the procedural detail and the earlier declined investigations, and it does not mention the judge's warning. All sides agree on the judge, the Friday hearing and the timing dispute. The left stresses judicial skepticism and Comey's defense; the right stresses the government's path to keep the case alive. Alternative outlets The Hill and Straight Arrow News largely track the basic dismissal story, with Straight Arrow noting the last-day filing.