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Former senior government lawyer Jack Goldsmith says the Justice Department’s newest case against James Comey was filed too late, in an analysis on his Executive Functions Substack.On Oct. 5, DOJ filed a “criminal information,” a charging document prosecutors can issue on their own, accusing the form…

The new Comey “case” — my take (spoiler alert: it is NOT what people are saying or focusing on, as I think people are missing the boat on the analysis). 1. DOJ proceeded by an Information, not by an Indictment. The Comey Information is a nullity, as it was not brought with Comey’s consent (which is required). So it is a nullity under the US Constitution, which requires a grand jury indictment for a federal felony to be charged. 2. The question thus is whether IF — and only IF — the government now could obtain an indictment by a grand jury for one or both charges alleged in the aborted Information would those new charges be within the applicable statute of limitations (SOL)? 3. Count one of the information, if now brought as an indictment, would not be within the SOL, as even applying the SOL for 10 years, an indictment today is past the 10/5/2026 date (ten years after the crime alleged on 10/5/2016). The new charges do not magically relate to a nullity; that is, the Information that was never properly brought (legal precedent deals with situations where the prior Information was properly brought, and thus inapplicable here). 4. Count two would be within the SOL, however, IF the government could adequately plead (as it alleged in the intro language of the count two in the Information) that the conspiracy continued to some point within the past ten years — ie past 10/27/2016 (using that date as an example if the Indictment were brought today). 5. It is not necessary to show an “overt act” in furtherance of the charged conspiracy is within the 10 years, I don’t think, where the criminal statute does not have an overt act requirement (as 793g — the crime alleged in count two — does not have). This is in contrast to when a criminal conspiracy statute does have an overt act requirement: then, an act must be found within the SOL period. 6. The SCOTUS Grunewald case would be a problem for the government showing factually there is some ongoing conspiracy beyond 10/5/2016, as the Court held mere secrecy/not revealing the crime is not sufficient to be an ongoing conspiracy. 7. All the Comey and DOJ briefing on whether section 3282 covers an Information vs an Indictment seems irrelevant to me, given that there has not been a valid information filed within ten years in any event. For more insights and updates, please see https://substack.com/@weissmann Join The Contrarian community to support bold journalism and help fund critical lawsuits to stop Trump’s corruption — Subscribe now. Subscribe

The DOJ charged former FBI director James Comey with a document usually used for guilty pleas, something former federal prosecutors said was rare.

Trump had his pets at the Department of Justice charge Comey a third time.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with unlawfully disclosing national defense information and conspiring to do so, RadarOnlinecan report. According to the three-page filing, Comey allegedly directed an individual identified as “Individual #1” to disclose national defense information to a reporter for a national news publication on October 5, 2016.

Prosecutors allege that the former FBI director illegally disclosed classified information in 2016—an incident that was investigated twice without charges.

A potentially blown indictment deadline could make the Washington, D.C., charges dead on arrival.

In the face of stiff and formidable competition, the latest criminal case brought against ex-FBI director James Comey may be the most foolish, idiotic and lawless brought by the Trump Justice Department to date. It may also have the shortest shelf life. To explain why that is the case, …

In some cases, court paperwork bears unmistakable signs of urgency — typos, unorthodox tactics and the signatures of the department’s senior political leadership.

Former FBI Director James Comey faces two federal charges alleging he directed the disclosure of national defense information to a newspaper.

(The Daily Signal) – The Justice Department has charged former FBI Director James Comey with unlawfully communicating national defense information and conspiring to disclose such information. The charges mark the third time the Justice Department has brought a criminal case against Comey during President Donald Trump’s second term. Comey is already under indictment on charges

For the judge in the case, this is not a hard one.

Former FBI director James Comey denied allegations made against him in a third criminal indictment from the Department of Justice.