The DOJ’s cases against Comey will likely fail. For Trump, a conviction may not be the point.

A third federal case has been brought against former FBI Director James Comey, this time in Washington, D. C. Court papers unsealed Monday show prosecutors filed a two-count information under seal on Oct. 5. It accuses him of passing national defense information to someone unauthorized to receive it and of conspiring to commit that offense, tied to a leak from Oct. 5, 2016, when he led the bureau. Because such a charge carries a 10-year limitations period, the Justice Department filed on the final day it could, according to MS NOW.

Comey responded that he remains innocent, is not afraid, and still trusts the independent federal judiciary. He called the development an appalling abuse of the Justice Department.

MS NOW's Steve Benen frames the case as part of a pattern in which President Donald Trump uses the department against people he regards as enemies. The first indictment last year fell apart after a federal judge criticized prosecutors for an "indict first, investigate later" attitude. A second came in April, over an Instagram post allegedly coded as a call for violence.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →