Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed a Columbia law professor who is both a friend and longtime adviser to James Comey, as part of a criminal probe into whether the fired FBI director lied in testimony before Congress, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Daniel Richman, who previously acknowledged serving as an intermediary between Comey and reporters following his 2017 firing by President Donald Trump, met with prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia last week, the sources said, ABC News reported.
Richman became a key figure after Comey directed him to share the contents of memos Comey wrote detailing his private interactions with Trump. One of those memos was shared with a reporter from The New York Times shortly after Comey’s dismissal.
Trump later accused Comey of breaking the law by leaking classified information, though Richman told ABC News at the time that none of the memos he handled contained classification markings.
The latest subpoena reportedly relates to testimony Comey delivered before Congress in September 2020 about the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign. Comey has consistently defended his actions, denying that political bias influenced the bureau’s early decisions.
A Justice Department inspector general review previously faulted Comey for violating FBI policy in how he managed the memos, but concluded they did not contain classified material. The DOJ under Trump’s first administration declined to pursue charges at the time.
Neither Richman’s attorney nor Comey’s attorney responded to ABC News’ requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Justice Department also declined to comment.
The development adds a new wrinkle to the long-running scrutiny of Comey’s role in the Russia investigation and his public disputes with Trump. While it remains unclear whether prosecutors are directly targeting Comey or simply gathering testimony, the subpoena signals that questions about his congressional testimony remain active.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said this month that his office uncovered evidence from Comey’s tenure in a room that had been “hidden from us,” as the bureau has been forced to reallocate resources amid ongoing internal investigations.
“I wouldn’t call it hidden, but hidden from us at least and not mentioned to us, and then we found stuff in there and a lot of it’s from the Comey era, and we are working our damndest right now to declassify,” Bongino told Fox News.
He added: “I totally understand people saying, ‘Well, do it now.’ The process is [that] not all information is ours to declassify; some is other intelligence agencies, it’s not—we literally can’t do it.”
“Once that gets done and that gets out there, and you read some of the stuff, we found that … was not processed through the normal procedure, digitizing it, putting it in FBI records. We found it in bags hiding under Jim Comey’s FBI, and you’re going to be stunned,” Bongino said.
Bongino did not disclose specifics about what was found but took the opportunity to criticize Comey, who was dismissed during Trump’s first term. His remarks came in response to a Fox News anchor’s question referencing earlier comments from FBI Director Kash Patel about a social media post made by Comey.
The fired FBI director drew attention earlier this month after posting an image to Instagram showing seashells arranged to spell “8647,” accompanied by the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” Some administration officials believe the message was aimed at President Donald Trump.
The term “86,” originally from restaurant and hospitality jargon, generally means to remove, reject, or eliminate someone or something, according to Merriam-Webster. Collins Dictionary further notes that it can also imply killing or executing a person.
The number “47” is commonly understood to refer to Trump, the 47th president of the United States, the Epoch Times reported.
