DOJ Rails Against Judge’s Order, Calling it a Bid to “Obstruct” New Comey Prosecution
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday urged a federal judge to dissolve a temporary order restricting the use of evidence seized from Daniel Richman — a law professor, former FBI attorney, and longtime confidant of James Comey — warning that the order threatens any attempt to re-indict the former FBI director.
The dispute flows from a TRO issued last weekend by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who temporarily barred prosecutors from using or further accessing files, emails and iCloud content seized from Richman in 2019–2020. The materials were originally obtained as part of a leak investigation — code-named “Arctic Haze” — that closed without charges.
Richman’s lawyers argued the DOJ wrongly retained and later searched the data without new warrants — including a full disk image of his personal computer — long after the original probe concluded. The judge agreed their Fourth Amendment challenge was “likely to succeed,” granting the TRO to preserve the status quo.
Prosecutors countered Tuesday that the motion is not a simple request for property return, but an attempt to suppress evidence before any new criminal proceeding. DOJ described the TRO as “a strategic tool to obstruct the investigation and potential prosecution.”
That litigation comes as the DOJ weighs whether to pursue a fresh indictment of Comey after a November ruling tossed out the prior case. Comey had been charged with lying to Congress about authorizing Richman to leak to media — a probe built heavily on communication records now under lock.
As of now, the judge has ordered both sides to brief the issue: DOJ must explain why the TRO should be lifted, while Richman will have a chance to claim attorney-client privilege over certain materials. What happens next will help determine whether the government’s proposal to revive charges against Comey proceeds — or collapses under persistent legal roadblocks.
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