Lawsuit from James Comey’s friend could disrupt plans to re-indict the former FBI director

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Source: CNN

James Comey’s friend and former lawyer Daniel Richman is suing the Justice Department over evidence gathered from him years ago that was used in the recently dismissed criminal case against Comey, which could disrupt the Trump administration’s imminent plans to re-indict the former FBI director.

The evidence the Justice Department gathered from collecting Richman’s online accounts, iPhone, iPad and a hard drive in 2019 and 2020 was becoming a serious issue in criminal case against Comey in Northern Virginia that was dismissed last month.

Richman, a Columbia University law professor, is asking the federal court based in Washington, DC, to issue an emergency order for the Justice Department to stop accessing Richman’s files and hold a hearing on whether the Justice Department violated Richman’s constitutional rights.

He says the Justice Department still having access to his files is a “callous disregard” of his Fourth Amendment rights protecting against unfair searches and government seizures.

“There is no lawful basis for the government to retain any images of Professor Richman’s computer, whether stored on the Hard Drive or elsewhere,” his lawsuit says. “The government’s conduct has deprived Professor Richman of his constitutional rights, and the injury to Professor Richman will continue if his property is not returned.”

Richman’s new requests in court now create the possibility that a judge could further dig into the allegations of prosecutorial missteps, which were not fully exposed or litigated in the Comey case before it was dismissed last Monday, or close off evidence prosecutors may want to use as they try to refashion charges against Comey related to his 2020 congressional testimony.

DC District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, an experienced jurist on national security cases and a Bill Clinton appointee, hasn’t yet responded to Richman’s lawsuit, according to the court record. The Justice Department has also not responded. The original search court records from years ago, where the Justice Department sought warrants to obtain Richman’s email, iCloud and other accounts and other data, are also still under seal in the DC District Court.

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