A federal judge in Washington, D.C., just dropped a bombshell by temporarily barring the Justice Department from using key evidence connected to an ally of former FBI Director James Comey.
In a nutshell, this ruling halts the DOJ’s access to materials linked to Daniel Richman, a close associate of Comey, while the court sorts out a messy legal battle over privacy rights and potential new charges against the former FBI chief, as Fox News reports.
Let’s rewind to the start: back in 2019 and 2020, prosecutors seized data from Richman’s electronic devices as part of an investigation into Comey.
Those files were used to build a case accusing Comey of making false statements and obstructing Congress during his 2020 testimony about FBI leaks to the press.
Richman, a law professor and former attorney for Comey, also got dragged into the mess, with allegations that he, as a one-time special FBI employee, fed info to reporters about probes into Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
Fast forward to last month, and the original case against Comey collapsed after a judge ruled the lead prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, was improperly appointed.
Undeterred, the Justice Department started eyeing fresh indictments against Comey, but Richman fired back with a lawsuit claiming the seizure of his personal files violated his Fourth Amendment protections.
Enter U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who stepped in with a temporary restraining order to stop the DOJ from touching those materials until the court can dig deeper.
As Judge Kollar-Kotelly put it, “The facts weigh in favor of entering a prompt, temporary order to preserve the status quo now, before the Government has filed a response.”
She didn’t stop there, folks—she also noted that “Richman is likely to succeed on the merits of his claim that the government has violated his Fourth Amendment right,” pointing to the DOJ’s retention and warrantless searches of his personal data.
Now, let’s unpack that: if the government can just swipe your entire digital life without a proper warrant, what’s stopping them from turning anyone’s private world upside down?
Judge Kollar-Kotelly ordered the DOJ to identify, isolate, and secure Richman’s materials, blocking access without court approval, with a deadline of noon on Monday to comply.
This restraining order isn’t permanent—it holds until Dec. 12, 2025, or until the court decides otherwise after more arguments and briefs are submitted.
Here’s the kicker: while the left might cheer any roadblock against prosecuting Comey as a win for their anti-accountability playbook, this ruling actually cuts deeper into the principle of personal liberty against government overreach—a cause conservatives have championed for decades.
So, as the DOJ scrambles to rethink its strategy, one thing is clear: this battle over evidence, privacy, and political accountability is far from over, and it’s a stark reminder that even in a polarized system, the Constitution still gets a seat at the table.
