A federal judge temporarily barred prosecutors from using certain evidence against former FBI Director James B. Comey — a blow to the Justice Department’s attempt to reindict him.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted a temporary restraining order to Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor and Mr. Comey’s friend. The order sequesters the email and computer data, as prosecutors may no longer be able to cite their communications in an attempt to indict Mr. Comey.
The Saturday order will remain in effect through Dec. 12 or until a court rules otherwise.
A federal grand jury charged Mr. Comey in September with lying to Congress about leaking information to the media regarding his 2016 investigation into presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s missing government emails.
In his failed indictment, prosecutors cited messages between him and Mr. Richman that they claimed showed the former director allowing Mr. Richman to interact with journalists for certain FBI coverage.
Mr. Comey pleaded not guilty in October, accusing the Justice Department of a vindictive prosecution.
In November, a federal judge dismissed the indictment, ruling that the prosecutor who filed the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed by the Trump administration.
Mr. Richman’s lawsuit argues that prosecutors violated his Fourth Amendment rights by seizing material from his electronic devices during previous investigations.
During President Trump’s first administration, he was investigated to determine whether he or Mr. Comey illegally shared classified information. The Biden Justice Department closed that case without charges in 2021.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly told the department “not to access the covered materials once they are identified, segregated, and secured, or to share, disseminate, or disclose the covered materials to any person, without first seeking and obtaining leave of this Court.”
“Given that the custody and control of this material is the central issue in this matter, uncertainty about its whereabouts weighs in favor of acting promptly to preserve the status quo,” she wrote.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly gave the Justice Department until Monday afternoon to certify that it complies with the order.
