A federal judge on Saturday temporarily barred prosecutors from using evidence seized from a key figure in the dismissed criminal case against former FBI director James Comey, as the Justice Department weighs new charges, court documents showed.
Daniel Richman, a law professor and former attorney for Comey, had filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging prosecutors violated his Fourth Amendment rights by seizing material from his electronic devices during investigations in 2019 and 2020.
In granting a temporary restraining order on Saturday, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote that "Richman is likely to succeed on the merits of his claim that the government has violated his Fourth Amendment right ... by retaining a complete copy of all files on his personal computer... and searching that image without a warrant."
Kollar-Kotelly, who former US president Bill Clinton appointed, ordered the government to "identify, segregate, and secure" the materials from Richman's devices, to prohibit access without court approval, and to comply by 12:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8.
Prosecutors had relied on those files to indict Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing Congress in connection with his 2020 testimony regarding FBI officials anonymously providing information to news outlets. The indictment alleged Richman, once a special FBI employee, communicated with reporters about investigations into Hillary Clinton, US President Donald Trump's Democratic rival in the 2016 election.
Decisions comes as Justice Department 'considers another indictment of Comey'
The ruling by Kollar-Kotelly remains in effect through December 12 or until further court action.
Her decision comes as the Justice Department considers another indictment of Comey. The original case was dismissed on November 24 after another judge determined that the lead prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed.
Richman's lawsuit adds to the legal obstacles prosecutors face in potentially reviving the case. Richman has asked the court to order the deletion or return of the seized material and to prohibit its use in any future efforts to indict Comey.
Separately, US Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick raised concerns last month about the mismanagement of Richman's seized materials during an earlier investigation into possible leaks of classified information. Neither Comey nor Richman was charged in relation to that probe.