A day after the accusation of former FBI director James Comey, the officials of the Department of Justice still offered few details about their case, but the sources said Friday that one of the two positions in the accusation focuses on their supposed role in the exchange of information on an FBI investigation related to Hillary Clinton.
Count 1 of the accusation, which accuses Comey for making false statements to Congress, involves Comey’s alleged role in having his close friend and former personal lawyer, Daniel Richman, provides information to journalists about an FBI investigation related to Clinton, sources told ABC News.
In the accusation, Count 1 says that Comey “deliberately knows” he lied when he testified under the Judicial Committee of the Senate in September 2020, reaffirmed the previous testimony of the Senate who insisted that he never “authorized someone else in the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports” about an investigation connected to someone only identified as “person 1.” “”
“That statement was false, because, as James B. Comey Jr. then and there I knew, in fact he had authorized person 3 to serve as anonymous source in news reports about [the] FBI research, “says the accusation.
The sources told ABC News that “Person 1” is Clinton and “Person 3” is Richman, a law professor for a long time that, as ABC News reported, he met with federal prosecutors last week after being summoned in the matter.
It is not clear exactly what news reports are mentioned in the accusation.
Comey’s testimony gave reference to the accusation occurred when Senator Ted Cruz interrogated him.
“On May 3, 2017, in this committee, President Grassley asked him blank:” Has it ever been an anonymous source in news reports on issues related to Trump’s investigation or Clinton’s investigation? “You responded under oath,” never. “Then he asked you: ‘Have you ever authorized Anyone else from FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports on Trump’s investigation or Clinton administration? You responded again under oath, ‘No’, “Cruz said.
The former director of the FBI, James Comey, swears during an audience before the select intelligence committee of the Senate in Capitol Hill, June 8, 2017, in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP through Getty Images
“Now, as you know, Mr. McCabe, who works for you, has publicly and repeatedly declared that he leaked information to the Wall Street Journal and that you were aware of it and That you directly authorized he. Now what Mr. McCabe says and What testified to this committee cannot be true. One or the other is false. Who tells the truth? “Cruz asked.
“I can only talk to my testimony. Apt the testimony you summarized that I said in May 2017,” Comey replied.
“So your testimony is that you have never authorized Should anyone filter? AND Mr. McCabe, if he says, is not telling the truth, is it correct? “Cruz asked.
“I will not characterize again Andy’s testimony, but mine is the same today, “Comey replied.
Regarding the question of whether Richman could be considered “someone else in the FBI”, Richman served as a “special employee” unpaid during the last two years of Comey in the FBI, according to FBI documents and the department of justice publicly available.
His work with the FBI focused greatly on promoting legal access to encrypted phones and, as he later eats federal researchers in an unrelated issue, Richman was “on the site much on the FBI” during that time.
Richman won notoriety in 2017, when Comey publicly admitted to provide Merands who documented meetings with Trump during Trump’s first mandate and asked him to share information from some of the memoranda with a New York Times reporter.
Speaking later with federal researchers, Richman said he did not share information classified with journalists and that, as he saw, he was helping Comey “obtaining information that … was not classified, without privileges” and “of enormous national importance,” according to a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice.
Richman did not respond to ABC News comments on Friday.
