Newly declassified Justice Department memorandums indicate that federal prosecutors collected testimony showing former FBI Director James Comey personally authorized the disclosure of classified information to The New York Times in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. Interviews by U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents with former FBI General Counsel James Baker and former chief of staff James Rybicki describe a chain-of-command approval in which Comey directed the leak, the memos say. Despite the evidence, prosecutors chose not to pursue criminal charges against Comey or his aides. The decision, summarized in 2017-2018 documents, appears to contradict Comey’s subsequent assertions to Congress that he never sanctioned the release of classified material. Attorney General Pam Bondi this week ordered previously redacted portions of the memorandums unsealed and transmitted the full versions to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for review. The records were located earlier this year by FBI Director Kash Patel, who said the disclosures raise broader questions about accountability for senior law-enforcement officials.