Federal Prosecutors Investigate Former FBI Director James Comey for Allegedly Making False Statements to Congress determined that a witness central to their investigation would prove “problematic” and would likely prevent them from presenting their case to a jury, sources familiar with their findings told ABC News.
Daniel Richman, a law professor who prosecutors say Comey authorized to leak information to the press, told investigators that the former FBI director ordered him not to interact with the media on at least two occasions and said unequivocally that Comey never authorized him to provide information to a journalist anonymously before the 2016 election, the sources said.
Comey, who was indicted last month accused of making a false statement and obstruction related to 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, is due to appear in a Virginia court for the first time for arraignment on Wednesday, but Justice Department officials have privately expressed that the case could quickly unravel under the scrutiny of a federal judge and defense attorneys.
According to prosecutors who investigated the circumstances surrounding Comey’s 2020 testimony for two months, using Richman’s testimony to prove that Comey knowingly provided false statements to Congress would result in “likely insurmountable problems” for the prosecution.
Investigators detailed those findings in a lengthy memo last month recommending that the office not move forward with the prosecution against Comey, according to sources familiar with the memo’s contents.
Lindsey Halligan, a Trump loyalist hand-picked to replace the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who resisted prosecuting Trump’s political enemies, still pressed ahead by presenting the case to a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, and won two of the three indictments she sought against Comey for his 2020 congressional testimony.
During grand jury proceedings, prosecutors are not required to present evidence favorable to the defendant, but such evidence must be provided to the defendant before trial.
FBI Director James Comey speaks during a news conference on March 24, 2016 in Washington.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Halligan’s deputy, Maggie Cleary, raised similar concerns about the case the same week that the former White House aide turned prosecutor asked a grand jury to indict Comey, reinforcing the conclusion that no piece of evidence could prove Comey lied to Congress and warning against relying on Richman, whom he described to colleagues as a hostile witness, the sources said.
Prosecutors also expressed concern about the department’s ability to bring the case to trial quickly because of problems identifying all relevant materials that would have to be turned over to Comey’s lawyers, the sources said. They also raised alarm about the possibility of Comey’s defense citing the case’s statute of limitations, which stems from 2017 testimony and was only reinforced by Comey during his 2020 testimony in response to a question from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Prosecutors rushed to obtain the indictment days before the statute of limitations for the 2020 testimony expired, although they believe Comey’s lawyers can argue that the statute of limitations expired years earlier since the underlying issue relates to the 2017 testimony, the sources said.
Comey, who is expected to plead not guilty to the charges, denies any wrongdoing and has argued that he is being targeted for political reasons. His indictment came just days after Trump’s unprecedented demand that his Justice Department act “now” to bring cases against the former FBI director and others.
“Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff and Leticia???” Trump wrote in a social media post last month, directly addressing Attorney General Pam Bondi and referring to California Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s destroying our reputation and credibility. I was accused twice and charged (five times!), FOR NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE DONE, NOW!!!”
Halligan alleges that Comey intentionally misled Congress in 2017 and 2020 when he testified that he never authorized another FBI person to provide information to the media anonymously. The accusation is that Comey authorized Richman to speak to the press anonymously, contradicting his testimony.
Trump later accused Comey of violating the law by sharing his memos, arguing that they contained classified information, although Richman later told ABC News in a statement that none of the documents had classification marks.
When prosecutors met with Richman in September, he told them that he never served as an anonymous source for Comey or acted at Comey’s direction while he was FBI director, sources familiar with his interview told ABC News. In at least two instances when Richman asked whether he should speak to the press, Comey advised him not to, the sources said.
Investigators who reviewed material in Comey’s emails, including his correspondence with Richman, were unable to identify a case in which Comey approved the leak of material to a journalist anonymously, sources told ABC News.
rich man, A longtime friend of Comey, he previously acknowledged his role as an intermediary between Comey and journalists after Comey was fired from his position as FBI director, including leaking memos written by Comey about his interactions with Trump after his firing.
Federal prosecutors have focused their investigation on Comey’s actions as FBI director, including allegedly leaking information about the Trump and Clinton campaigns before the 2016 election, to find evidence that Comey intentionally misled Congress.
As ABC News previously reported, the office’s career prosecutors not only determined that the vast amount of evidence they gathered in their investigation would be insufficient to convince a jury to convict him at trial, but they also would not meet a lower standard of reaching probable cause to even bring a case.
