Judge says Comey evidence was wrongfully retained

14/12/2025 12:41

Prosecutors must return evidence seized from a key figure in the dismissed criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey, but the U.S. Department of Justice can seek a new warrant for the information, a federal judge has ruled.



The ruling is at least a temporary setback for prosecutors mulling another attempt to charge Comey, one of President Donald Trump's critics whom the DOJ has sought to prosecute.



A lawyer for Richman declined to comment on Saturday.



U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington ruled that while prosecutors must return files seized from Daniel Richman, a law professor and former attorney for Comey, a copy can be deposited with the court for safekeeping in the event that prosecutors seek a new warrant.



Richman sued last month seeking to bar prosecutors from using material he alleged had been improperly seized from him during a probe in 2019 and 2020. The probe ended in 2021 with no charges.



Kollar-Kotelly, whose ruling was released Friday night, wrote that it was an unreasonable seizure of Richman's property to keep a copy of Richman's files without safeguarding them against being searched without a warrant in a new investigation.