A federal judge has been assigned to oversee the criminal case involving former FBI Director James Comey following a new indictment filed by the Justice Department late last month.
The case will be presided over by Judge Louise W. Flanagan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Flanagan, who was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2003, has served on the federal bench for more than two decades. Before becoming a district judge, she worked as a federal magistrate judge and previously practiced law at the Washington, D.C.-based firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche recently defended the indictment during an interview with Fox News, rejecting suggestions that the case was based solely on a social media post attributed to Comey.
“Every case requires an investigation,” Blanche said, emphasizing that prosecutors relied on significantly more evidence than the Instagram image that initially drew public attention.
He noted that career prosecutors, FBI agents, and Secret Service investigators spent nearly a year examining the matter before presenting evidence to a grand jury. While declining to discuss confidential grand jury proceedings, Blanche said the indictment reflected a broader investigation rather than a single online post.
At the same time, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have reportedly revived a separate investigation into Comey’s handling of memoranda documenting private conversations with then-President Donald Trump.
According to reports, investigators are examining whether Comey improperly shared classified information when he provided the memos to Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, who later shared details with The New York Times. Those memos contributed to a widely publicized 2017 article that intensified scrutiny surrounding allegations of Russian interference during Trump’s first term.
If prosecutors ultimately pursue charges, the Virginia matter would represent another criminal case involving Comey alongside the North Carolina indictment and an additional investigation reportedly underway in Florida. Officials familiar with the matter say Justice Department leadership has recently met with prosecutors to discuss whether any future charges should be filed in Virginia, where Comey resides, or in New York, where Richman lives. No decision has been publicly announced.
The renewed investigation has also prompted discussion about legal standards governing classified information. During the Mar-a-Lago documents litigation, the Justice Department argued that records designated as classified by the executive branch were entitled to heightened legal protection. Some legal observers have noted that if investigators now determine Comey’s memoranda contained classified material, prosecutors could rely on similar legal principles in evaluating potential charges. Whether that argument ultimately succeeds would depend on the specific facts presented in court and any judicial rulings made during future proceedings.
