Comey charged with violating the Espionage Act

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said he was being charged by the Justice Department for the third time. Comey is accused of violating the Espionage Act by leaking national defense information to a journalist in Oct. 2016. 'I'm still lucky to have an amazing family and an incredible group of lawyers that will stand up in court and fight the latest and whatever comes after this.' 'Well, they’re back. Again. It would almost be funny if it weren't such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice. One that we cannot become numb to,' Comey said in a video on social media. 'Nothing's changed with me. I’m still innocent, I'm still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary,' he added. 'And I'm still lucky to have an amazing family and an incredible group of lawyers that will stand up in court and fight the latest and whatever comes after this.' He is being charged with two counts, one related to releasing the information to an unauthorized person and another for conspiring to do so. 'The Department filed a waiverless criminal information to toll the statute of limitations as it relates to allegations concerning former FBI Director Comey,' a spokesperson for the DOJ said. 'Filing a 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 spokesperson added. RELATED: James Comey subpoenaed in 'grand conspiracy' against Trump: Report A previous charge against Comey of lying to Congress was dismissed, while a second charge related to an alleged threat to assassinate the president via a message formed by seashells is pending. He has denied threatening the president and said he didn't even know what the shells meant when he posted his photograph on social media. 'The next couple years are gonna be hard for all of us,' he concluded in his video. 'It's really important that we stand straight and keep the faith in America.' Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!