Federal Judge Unseals Espionage Act Criminal Information Against Former FBI Director Comey

Analysis
The case turns on whether Section 19's ten-year window can be met by an information rather than an indictment, and McFadden's ruling will decide whether DOJ's sealed October 5 filing preserved a charge that Durham and the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office both declined to bring. Department-level signatories, including acting Deputy Attorney General McCotter, and outside special assistant U.S. attorneys show this is a coordinated push. The motion is now fully briefed, and the government's brief adds allegations beyond the information, including emailed talking points and a Comey instruction to brief a Times reporter, which could support a later grand jury presentation. DOJ may be using the information mainly as a placeholder to stop the clock, making the later charging decision matter more than the limitations fight. If the limitations challenge fails, Comey's reliance on James Baker's 2022 testimony that the FBI Director and DNI authorized the disclosure signals a merits defense. Confidence is high, based on Just Security's filings and CBS's DOJ statement, though no ruling or hearing date is visible.