Newly unsealed court records show prosecutors filed a criminal information, a charging document that can be submitted without a grand jury indictment, to preserve the government’s ability to pursue the case. The department says the filing is a recognized way to extend the statute of limitations while an investigation continues.

Comey’s lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss it, arguing that federal law required prosecutors to obtain an indictment within 10 years of the alleged conduct. They also say the filing cannot substitute for an indictment and that Comey did not commit a crime. The judge has not ruled on the request.

The allegation concerns an October 2016 New York Times report about a secret court order requiring Yahoo to scan emails for messages potentially connected to a foreign terrorist organization. The newspaper cited two government officials who spoke anonymously about the order, which the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had barred Yahoo from disclosing.

Prosecutors allege Comey directed staff to speak with a Times reporter to address accuracy concerns about a Reuters report published the previous day, and that he thereby transferred classified information unlawfully. Comey said in a video statement Monday that he is innocent and described the renewed effort as an abuse of the Justice Department. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the department had twice previously concluded that no charges should be brought in the matter.

Federal authorities began investigating the disclosure in 2017. Prosecutor John Durham recommended in a classified 2018 memo that no one be charged, according to a filing by Comey’s lawyers. A separate investigation opened by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington in 2019 was closed in February 2020 without charges.

The Justice Department said it would not comment further because the investigation is ongoing. The filing, submitted under seal on Oct. 6, has become part of a broader, politically charged series of investigations as the midterm elections approach.

Comey has faced two other criminal cases since President Donald Trump returned to office. A case accusing Comey of lying to Congress was dismissed after a judge found the prosecutor who brought it had been illegally appointed. A separate indictment accuses Comey of threatening Trump through an Instagram image showing seashells arranged as “86 47”; Comey is seeking to have that case dismissed.

The latest action adds to a long conflict between Trump and Comey. Trump fired Comey in May 2017 while the FBI was investigating possible ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Special counsel Robert Mueller later found that Russia interfered in the election and that the Trump campaign welcomed the help, but said there was insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy.

Comey, who led the FBI under Trump and previously served in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush, has repeatedly criticized Trump. Trump has publicly called for Comey to face charges. Comey’s daughter, Maurene, a former Justice Department prosecutor in New York, was also fired last year; a federal judge ruled Monday that her termination was illegal.