Federal Judge Orders Return of Seized Data from Law Professor Daniel Richman in Comey Case
A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to return data seized from law professor Daniel Richman, a close friend of former FBI Director James Comey, in 2017. The judge ruled that the agency violated Richman's constitutional rights and used the material improperly to indict Comey. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly criticized the Justice Department prosecutors for their handling of the data, which included an image of Richman's hard drive and emails from his iCloud and Columbia University accounts.
This ruling is a setback for the Justice Department and prosecutors from the Eastern District of Virginia, following a previous ruling that former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan was not lawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the district. The Justice Department has not yet responded to the ruling or indicated if they will seek new indictments against Comey. Prosecutors had argued that they needed the information to pursue a new indictment against Comey after an initial indictment was dismissed last month.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly's 46-page memorandum criticized the government's violation of the Fourth Amendment and ordered the return of the data to Richman. She also allowed a copy of the data to be kept under seal in case prosecutors can convince judges to use it again. Richman's filing to retrieve his material was made in the US District Court in DC, where a temporary restraining order had been issued to block prosecutors from accessing his data and emails.
The use of Richman's records came to light after Comey was indicted for making a false statement to Congress in 2020. However, the case was dismissed due to the unlawful appointment of Halligan. The Justice Department obtained Richman's computer files and emails during an investigation into Comey after he was fired as FBI director. Richman had allowed the FBI to create an image of his files, but the Justice Department retained the data and used it against Comey without obtaining a new warrant.
The Justice Department has not yet filed an appeal in the Comey case, despite Attorney General Pam Bondi's statement that they would do so. Prosecutors argued that Richman was trying to protect Comey from being reindicted and admitted that the material was crucial to those efforts. The ongoing legal battle highlights the complex issues surrounding the handling of electronic data and the rights of individuals in criminal investigations.