A combination of file photos show U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. April 9, 2018 and former FBI Director James Comey on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 8, 2017
Bloomberg Law reported on Thursday that the Justice Department is looking at charging former FBI Director James Comey with leaking classified information, following his indictment on charges related to alleged threats against President Donald Trump.
Two people familiar with the DOJ's thinking told Bloomberg in an exclusive interview that the timing on that indictment appears to be up in the air.
Trump has long alleged that Comey was a "leaker," saying that he "sent" Columbia University Law Professor Daniel Richman classified information with the instructions to leak it to the New York Times for a 2017 article.
There is a statute of limitations on charging for leaking classified information in most cases, except in espionage cases, says Congress.gov.
If Comey is charged in this case, it would be the third attempt by the administration to charge him.
Last year, the DOJ failed to make charges of lying to Congress stick in the Eastern District of Virginia. It's unclear if the classified information charges would happen in EDVA or in a different location, such as New York, where Richman lives.
Todd Blanche recently took over the DOJ and part of his work has been to ensure the prosecutions of several Trump foes.
Comey's attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, and the DOJ refused to comment to Bloomberg.
When Comey was charged earlier this week, he made a full statement on Instagram saying he wasn't worried or afraid and was eager to go up against the DOJ and beat the charges.
Many legal experts have commented in the days that followed that the charges for the threats against Trump likely won't even make it to trial.