In a significant legal blow to prosecutors, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the US government from accessing crucial evidence in the criminal case against former FBI director James Comey. The ruling, delivered on Saturday, states the government likely violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches when it obtained materials from a close ally of Comey.
Judge Rules Search Likely Unconstitutional
Federal district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a four-page order on Saturday, finding that the government's actions probably infringed upon the Fourth Amendment rights of Daniel Richman. Richman is a Columbia University law professor and former attorney for James Comey. The judge's order, which remains in effect until 12 December, prevents prosecutors from using the materials seized from Richman's computer.
The controversy stems from a series of warrants obtained by the government between 2017 and 2020, during its initial investigation into Comey. These warrants allowed authorities to search an image of Professor Richman's computer. Despite that investigation closing in 2021 without charges, the government retained all the data it had collected.
A "Warrantless Search" of Privileged Material
According to court documents, when a new investigation into Comey began this year, prosecutors did not seek a fresh warrant to examine the old data from Richman. Instead, they conducted what Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick described as a "warrantless search" earlier this year. This action potentially exposed communications protected by attorney-client privilege, given Richman's dual role as Comey's friend and former legal counsel.
In a searing opinion last November, Judge Fitzpatrick noted that the government appeared to have kept everything taken from Richman's computer, not just the information relevant to the original warrant. The core allegation against Comey is that he lied to Congress about authorising leaks, with prosecutors relying partly on private communications between Comey and Richman to build their case.
Mounting Setbacks for Prosecutors
This ruling represents another major hurdle for the US attorney's office for the eastern district of Virginia, which is handling the prosecution. The case against James Comey has already been dismissed once, with a previous judge ruling the prosecutor was improperly appointed. The justice department under the second Trump administration is expected to seek a new indictment.
The setback follows another stunning defeat for prosecutors just days earlier. On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Virginia took the extremely rare step of declining to approve a sought-after indictment against New York attorney general Letitia James, another political rival of Donald Trump.
James Comey continues to vehemently deny any wrongdoing. The legal battle, which intertwines issues of political targeting, attorney-client privilege, and search-and-seizure law, is set to continue with the next hearing scheduled for December.
