(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A federal grand jury investigating former FBI Director James Comey has subpoenaed his longtime confidant Daniel Richman, the same individual who acknowledged that Comey asked him to leak information to the media, several news outlets reported.
The subpoena, reported by Fox News on Monday, is part of a broader investigation into Comey’s alleged role in what officials have described as a scheme to undermine the first Trump administration.
Comey was previously investigated during Trump’s first term in connection with the leaking of sensitive information, including details about his conversations with President Donald Trump, shortly after the president fired him on May 9, 2017.
Richman is a professor at Columbia Law School, a former federal prosecutor and a longtime Comey confidant. He gained national prominence after Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he had used a friend to leak his notes to the media in an effort to prompt the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Trump.
Richman later told the Associated Press that he was the individual who leaked the notes to the media.
In 2025, Richman sued the DOJ, claiming prosecutors violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. Richman specifically alleged that the DOJ unlawfully used data it had collected during the first Trump administration as part of its investigation into Comey.
That investigation ultimately closed without charges after President Joe Biden took office in 2021 and new leadership took over at the DOJ.
The subpoena for Richman was issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, according to The New York Times.
Comey himself has since faced two federal indictments.
He was first indicted in September 2025 on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding in connection with the leaks. Those charges were later dismissed on a legal technicality.
A federal grand jury again indicted Comey in April 2026, this time on charges of “knowingly and willfully” making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm on Trump.
The charges stemmed from a social media post Comey made on May 15, 2025, featuring a photo depicting “86 47,” which the DOJ said represented “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.”
Comey’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 21, 2026, although the judge is reviewing a request from his defense attorneys to dismiss the charges over claims of vindictive prosecution.
