The US Justice Department told a judge on Friday it may bring more charges against former FBI Director James Comey as it seeks a grand jury indictment in Washington, DC, CNN reports.

District Judge Trevor McFadden must decide whether the placeholder charges can stand. The counts — for allegedly conspiring to share sensitive information with a media outlet in 2016 to correct another outlet’s reporting — were filed in early October by “information,” without a judge or grand jury, and cannot alone move the case forward.

DOJ lawyers said they are gathering more evidence on alleged media leaks, even though two prior DOJ probes brought no charges. They are considering alleged conduct after October 2016, including through April 2017, to address the statute-of-limitations problem; the Espionage Act has a 10-year deadline.

Prosecutors claimed new information since John Durham’s inquiry, which declined charges in 2018. They did not say whether that material came after a second Trump-era investigation that also did not charge.

Comey’s lawyers argued the statute does not allow charging by information merely to pause the limitations clock. McFadden asked why he should not wait for a possible indictment; defense counsel cited FBI agents outside Comey’s home and the case “hanging over” him. The judge warned against a “dawn raid”; prosecutors promised none would occur.

McFadden said there is “at least one novel issue” and that seeking a grand jury indictment before his ruling is the department’s choice. DC grand juries have recently declined other cases, including against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.

Source: Justice Department tells judge it may bring more charges against James Comey | CNN