After nudging his friend to speak with a reporter, former FBI Director James Comey reviewed the resulting story and told him he did “pretty good,” according to personal emails released by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Emails and text messages included in a DOJ court filing shed light on how Daniel Richman interacted with the media. Richman is a law professor Comey hired as a “Special Government Employee.” Richman then received a Top-Secret security clearance.
“Well done my friend,” Comey told Richman in a Nov. 2, 2016 email after reading a New York Times story where Richman served as an anonymous source. “Who knew this would. E so uh fun.”
The story, titled “These Are the Bad (and Worse) Options James Comey Faced,” did not name Richman as a source but described how Comey could respond after the FBI revealed to Congress it had discovered “thousands of new emails” potentially relevant to the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private server.
Richman previously asked Comey on Oct. 30, 2016 about an op-ed the NYT asked him to write.
“No need. At this point it would [be] shouting into the wind,” Comey told him. “Some day they will figure it out. And as Jack and Ben point out, my decision will be one a president elect Clinton will be very grateful for (although that wasn’t why I did it).”
Days later, Comey emailed Richman with frustrations about NYT coverage, asking his friend on Nov. 1 to “make him [the reporter] smarter.”
An email from James Comey, sent from his personal account, to Daniel Richman on Nov. 2, 2016. Credit: United States v. Comey/Screenshot
The emails were released in a filing opposing Comey’s motion to dismiss his indictment based on vindictive and selective prosecution.
Comey was indicted for allegedly and falsely claiming during his September 2020 testimony that he did not authorize “someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports” regarding an investigation into Clinton, as well as obstructing a Congressional investigation.
His attorneys argued in an Oct. 20 filing that Comey was “singled out” based on his public criticism of President Donald Trump, who “harbors genuine animus” towards the former FBI director.
Federal prosecutors wrote Monday that the correspondence demonstrates “Richman corresponded extensively with members of the media regarding or on behalf of the defendant, including in an anonymous capacity.”
“The true affront to the criminal justice system would be to allow the defendant to escape accountability for lying to and obstructing Congress under oath about actions he took while serving as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the DOJ’s filing states. “The indictment was presented by a duly appointed and unbiased prosecutor. And a duly constituted grand jury found probable cause that he committed the indicted offenses.”
Texts between Richman and reporter. Credit: United States v. Comey/Screenshot
In a February 2017 email, Richman asked then-DOJ official Chuck Rosenberg if he would be willing to “chat” with a reporter about Clinton’s emails.
“Hi Chuck – My pal at the NYT, Mike Schmidt is (along with Apuzzo, Goldman, and (gag me) Lichtblau) is doing a huge piece on the HRC emails,” Richman wrote. “He’s had a ton of background conversations with players and non-players (like me). Mike very much would like to talk to you exclusively on background as he tries to understanding [sic] Jim’s decisionmaking to the extent possible. Mike asked me to reach out to you. Hence this email. Would you be willing to chat with him?”
In text messages on May 11, 2017, Richman directed Schmidt to reach out to Comey, who he said could give “clearance for me to talk as anon source.” The reporter did, telling Comey to “just give Richman green light to tell me about dinner.”
“Just got goahead [sic],” Richman later responded. “See my email.”
Citing “associates” of Comey, the NYT published a story that same day saying Comey “declined” to pledge loyalty to Trump when the president asked him to do so at a dinner just seven days after inauguration.
Comey’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Mark Warner, CC via Wikimedia Commons)
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