Wire reporting: (AP, via KSL)

A federal judge in Washington on Friday delayed a decision on whether to dismiss a placeholder criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey, giving the Justice Department time to seek a grand jury indictment, KSL reported¹.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden heard defense arguments that the department missed the 10-year statute of limitations by filing a criminal information instead of an indictment, KSL said¹. Comey lawyer Ephraim McDowell told the court the information is time-barred and must be dismissed, according to KSL¹.

Prosecutor Dustin Farahnak said it was premature to rule while a grand jury investigation continues and that jurors might consider conduct after October 2016, KSL reported¹. He also told the judge there would be no dawn raid to arrest Comey, after the defense raised that concern¹.

CBS News, in a preview of the hearing, said prosecutors allege Comey violated the Espionage Act by transmitting national defense information in connection with a 2016 New York Times article, and that they filed an information to preserve the case as the limitations period ran². Comey’s team said he maintains his innocence and that two earlier investigations declined charges, CBS reported².

KSL said the latest allegation concerns an October 2016 Times story about a secret court order involving Yahoo, and that prosecutor John Durham recommended no charges in 2018¹. It is the third Justice Department effort to charge Comey in a little over a year, both outlets reported^1,2. A 2025 case over alleged false statements to Congress was dismissed because the prosecutor was found unlawfully appointed, CBS said². A separate case over an Instagram image remains pending^1,2.

McFadden has not ruled on the information, and no indictment had been returned in the leak matter as of the Friday hearing¹.