Declassified FBI Memos Detail Comey’s Media Conduit in Russia Leak Probe

Newly declassified FBI memoranda sent to Congress this week show that former FBI Director James Comey relied on Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman as an unofficial channel to shape press coverage of the Trump-Russia inquiry. Richman, whom Comey hired in 2015 as a special government employee and granted Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented clearance, acknowledged in 2017 interviews with agents that he regularly passed information to New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt. He told investigators he was only “sure — with a discount” that he had not relayed classified material. The memos stem from “Arctic Haze,” one of several leak probes the bureau opened after a series of 2016-17 media stories quoting unnamed officials about the Russia investigation. Although agents treated the matter as an espionage case, the Justice Department closed it in September 2021, saying it could not prove who leaked what information, and declined to prosecute Comey, Richman or others. Release of the files by FBI Director Kash Patel has revived Republican accusations of politically motivated leaks. The documents reference a career intelligence officer’s separate claim that then-House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff directed staff to leak classified material, an allegation Schiff denies. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan said the disclosures fit “a pattern” of efforts to undermine Donald Trump and signalled fresh congressional scrutiny.