A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that certain evidence linked to an ally of former FBI Director James Comey is temporarily off limits to the Justice Department in its efforts to renew a prosecution of the ex-director following the dismissed criminal case.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the DOJ may not use information pertaining to Daniel Richman.
"Upon consideration of Petitioner Daniel Richman's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, the relevant legal authority, and the entire present record, the Court concludes that Petitioner Richman is entitled to a narrow temporary restraining order to preserve the status quo while the Court evaluates his Motion for Return of Property and awaits full briefing and argument from the parties," the ruling reads.
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The facts "weigh in favor of entering a prompt, temporary order to preserve the status quo now, before the Government has filed a response," it added.
Richman, a law professor and former attorney for Comey, had filed a lawsuit arguing that prosecutors violated his Fourth Amendment rights by seizing material from his electronic devices during investigations in 2019 and 2020.
"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," the judge wrote.
Kollar-Kotelly ordered the DOJ to "identify, segregate, and secure" the materials from Richman's devices, bar their access without court approval and comply by noon on Monday.
Prosecutors had relied on the files to indict Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing Congress in connection with his 2020 testimony on FBI officials anonymously giving information to news outlets.
The indictment accused Richman, previously a special FBI employee, of communicating with reporters about investigations into 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in that year's election loss to President Donald Trump.
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Saturday's ruling remains in effect through Dec. 12 or until there is further court action.
This comes as the DOJ weighs another indictment against Comey after the original case was dismissed last month when another judge found that the lead prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed.
Reuters contributed to this report.
