U.S. Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Evidence Use In Dismissed Comey Case | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) – A federal choose on Saturday quickly barred prosecutors from utilizing proof seized from a key determine within the dismissed legal case in opposition to former FBI Director James Comey, because the Department of Justice weighs new prices, courtroom paperwork confirmed.

Daniel Richman, a regulation professor and former legal professional for Comey, had filed a lawsuit within the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging prosecutors violated his Fourth Amendment rights by seizing materials from his digital units throughout investigations in 2019 and 2020.

In granting a brief restraining order on Saturday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote that “Richman is likely to succeed on the merits of his claim that the government has violated his Fourth Amendment right … by retaining a complete copy of all files on his personal computer … and searching that image without a warrant.”

Kollar-Kotelly, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, ordered the federal government to “identify, segregate, and secure” the supplies from Richman’s units, prohibit their entry with out courtroom approval, and comply by 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 8.

Prosecutors had relied on these information to indict Comey on prices of constructing false statements and obstructing Congress in connection along with his 2020 testimony relating to FBI officers anonymously offering info to information retailers. The indictment alleged Richman, as soon as a particular FBI worker, communicated with reporters about investigations into Hillary Clinton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Democratic rival within the 2016 election.

The ruling by Kollar-Kotelly stays efficient by way of December 12 or till there’s additional courtroom motion.

Her determination comes because the Justice Department considers one other indictment of Comey. The authentic case was dismissed on November 24 after one other choose decided that the lead prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed.

The lawsuit by Richman provides to the authorized obstacles prosecutors face in probably reviving the case. Richman has requested the courtroom to order the deletion or return of the seized materials and to ban its use in any future efforts to indict Comey.

Separately, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick raised considerations final month concerning the mismanagement of Richman’s seized supplies throughout an earlier investigation into doable leaks of labeled info. Neither Comey nor Richman was charged in relation to that probe.

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein and Bhargav Acharya; Additional Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Sergio Non and Thomas Derpinghaus)