WASHINGTON (AP) — In a significant development, a federal judge announced that the Justice Department violated the constitutional rights of Daniel Richman, a close friend of James Comey. As a result, the department must return computer files they intended to use in a case against the former FBI director, the ruling made on Friday emphasizes.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a serious critique of the Justice Department’s handling of the situation and creates a substantial barrier to any attempt to indict Comey again following the dismissal of an initial indictment last month.
This order relates to the computer files and communications that were previously obtained from Richman, a law professor at Columbia University, during a media leak investigation that concluded without any charges against him. Despite this, the Justice Department held onto these materials and recently searched them without obtaining a new warrant as part of their preparations to bring charges against Comey for allegedly lying to Congress five years ago.
Richman argued that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the government’s retention of his records and the unwarranted searches conducted this fall. Following his claims, Judge Kollar-Kotelly temporarily prohibited prosecutors from further accessing the files related to this investigation.
The Justice Department contended that Richman’s request to have his records back was simply a tactic to obstruct the prosecution of Comey. However, the judge sided with Richman in her detailed 46-page decision, mandating that the department return his files.
“When the Government violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures by sweeping up a broad swath of a person’s electronic files and retaining those files long after the relevant investigation has ended, what remedy is available to the victim of this unlawful intrusion?” Judge Kollar-Kotelly questioned in her ruling. One remedy, she indicated, is to return the documents to their rightful owner.
Nonetheless, the judge also allowed the Justice Department to keep an electronic copy of Richman’s documents under seal in the Eastern District of Virginia, suggesting that they could obtain a valid search warrant at a later date to access the stored files.
The Justice Department has maintained that Comey used his connection with Richman to leak details to the media regarding his decisions throughout the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. In September, prosecutors charged Comey with lying to Congress by denying that he had sanctioned an anonymous source to provide information to the press.
This indictment was nullified last month when a federal judge ruled that the prosecutor involved, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed during the Trump administration. Nevertheless, the judge’s decision leaves the door open for the government to pursue charges against Comey, who has had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump. Comey has pleaded not guilty, denying any wrongdoing and alleging that the Justice Department is pursuing a vindictive agenda against him.
The saga surrounding Comey stretches back several years. For instance, in June 2017, just a month after he was axed as the FBI chief, Comey revealed that he had shared a memo describing a conversation with Trump with Richman, who was authorized to disclose its contents to a news reporter.
After his testimony, Richman allowed the FBI to clone an image of all files on his computer and its accompanying hard drive. The FBI had limited search authorization, according to the judge.
Subsequently, the FBI and the Justice Department obtained search warrants in 2019 and 2020 for Richman’s email accounts as part of a media leak investigation. This investigation wrapped up in 2021 without charges; however, Richman alleged that the government had collected more data than the warrants permitted, including sensitive personal medical information. Furthermore, Richman contended that the Justice Department breached his rights by conducting a search of his files in September without a new warrant as part of a different investigation altogether.
“The retention of Richman’s files by the Government constitutes an ongoing unreasonable seizure,” Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted. “Hence, I concur with Richman that the Government breached his Fourth Amendment rights against unjust searches and seizures.”
