A federal grand jury subpoenaed Daniel Richman, a Columbia Law School professor and longtime adviser to James Comey, on Monday as part of a renewed FBI leak probe tied to the former FBI director, according to CNN and Fox News reporting today.
Richman, who served as Comey’s conduit to the media, has been a central figure in the Justice Department’s investigation into classified information leaks. The subpoena marks a fresh move in a long-running investigation that has already produced one indictment against Comey and sparked a legal battle over evidence seizure.
The investigation, known internally as “Arctic Haze,” centers on Comey’s dissemination of classified documents to Richman, who then shared details with reporters. In 2017, Richman confirmed to the Associated Press that he was the friend Comey mentioned in Senate testimony about leaking a memo documenting private conversations between Comey and President Trump. Richman later read portions of that memo to a New York Times reporter at Comey’s request, according to reporting by PBS NewsHour and other outlets.
The DOJ has pursued multiple angles against Comey. In September 2025, a grand jury indicted him on charges of making false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, related to his testimony about whether he authorized media leaks. That case was dismissed without prejudice in November 2025 after a change in prosecutors, according to reporting by the Washington Post and NBC News. More recently, in April 2026, Comey was indicted on separate charges alleging he threatened President Trump in a 2025 social media post, according to Justice Department announcements.
Richman’s legal position has been complicated by evidence seizure disputes. The DOJ executed search warrants on his devices and accounts in 2019 and 2020 as part of the Arctic Haze investigation. In December 2025, Richman sued the Justice Department seeking to block prosecutors from using materials seized from him, arguing the government had violated his constitutional rights, according to Reuters and the Washington Post. A federal judge agreed, temporarily blocking the DOJ’s access to the seized materials on December 7, 2025, and ordering their return on December 12, 2025, according to reporting by Politico, NBC News, and Axios.
The judge found that prosecutors had handled the seized material with “callous disregard,” as reported by Politico. The ruling dealt a significant setback to DOJ efforts to pursue new charges against Comey, since much of the evidence prosecutors relied on came from Richman’s communications with the former director.
The DOJ has not stopped pursuing the matter. In April 2026, Bloomberg Law reported that the Justice Department was pursuing additional charges against Comey for allegedly leaking classified information. The renewed subpoena of Richman suggests prosecutors are attempting to rebuild their case despite the judicial constraints on using the seized evidence directly.
Richman’s role in the Comey memos controversy dates to 2017, after Trump fired Comey as FBI director. Comey had written memos documenting his private conversations with Trump, including one in which Trump allegedly asked him to drop an investigation. Comey shared copies of these memos with Richman, who then provided details to the media. In 2019, the DOJ Inspector General found that Comey had violated FBI policies in handling the memos, though the department declined to prosecute at that time, according to NBC News and PBS NewsHour.
The Arctic Haze investigation has been marked by legal disputes over investigative methods and evidence handling. In November 2025, a federal judge accused prosecutors of taking an “indict first, investigate later” approach and noted that the FBI had found no evidence that Richman himself had been a source for the classified disclosures at issue, according to reporting by the New York Times and Lawfare Media.
The subpoena of Richman on August 31, 2026, signals that prosecutors believe they can move forward despite those legal setbacks. Whether the grand jury will recommend new charges, and on what basis, remains unclear.
Sources
- CNN — reporting on the subpoena of Daniel Richman in a renewed FBI leak probe tied to Comey, August 31, 2026
- Fox News — reporting on the DOJ subpoena of Richman as part of the leak investigation, August 31, 2026
- WFMD — reporting on the grand jury subpoena and the revived classified leak probe, August 31, 2026
- Bloomberg Law — reporting that the DOJ is pursuing additional charges against Comey for allegedly leaking classified information, April 30, 2026
- Reuters — reporting on Richman’s lawsuit seeking to block use of evidence and bar further access, December 2, 2025
- Axios — reporting on the judge blocking DOJ use of seized emails and computer files, December 7, 2025
- Politico — reporting on the court order directing the DOJ to return data seized from Richman, December 12, 2025
- NBC News — reporting on the DOJ Inspector General’s finding that Comey violated FBI policies, and on the judge’s order to return seized data
- Washington Post — reporting on Richman’s lawsuit and the judge’s ruling that prosecutors likely violated his constitutional rights, December 2025
- PBS NewsHour — reporting on the DOJ Inspector General’s investigation and Comey’s handling of memos
- CBS News — reporting on court filings revealing the “Arctic Haze” investigation, October 20, 2025
- New York Times — reporting on the judge’s criticism of prosecutors in the Comey case, November 5, 2025
- Lawfare Media — reporting on the FBI’s findings regarding the Arctic Haze investigation, September 24, 2025
