A federal grand jury has subpoenaed Daniel Richman, longtime adviser to former FBI Director James Comey, as the Justice Department reopens its investigation into classified leaks to the New York Times, Fox News reported Monday, citing multiple law enforcement sources.
The subpoena signals the DOJ is renewing scrutiny of a matter first investigated during President Donald Trump’s first term, which was shelved after Joe Biden took office. Richman “played a central role in the initial investigation into the leak in 2018,” according to Fox’s reporting.
Richman previously sued the government, alleging his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when authorities seized material from his devices during later stages of the probe. Prosecutors used files from that seizure to indict Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing Congress over his 2020 testimony about FBI officials anonymously feeding information to reporters.
That indictment also accused Richman, a former special FBI employee, of communicating with reporters about the FBI’s 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign against Trump.
The renewed leak probe comes as Comey separately faces charges tied to an Instagram post he made in May 2025 and later deleted. The post displayed “86 47” arranged in seashells on a beach, a message some interpreted as a threat against Trump’s life. Comey was indicted over the post.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the case against Comey extends well beyond that single post.
“This is not just about a single Instagram post. This is about a body of evidence that the grand jury collected over the series of about 11 months. That evidence was presented to the grand jury. And it’s not the government. It’s not the Department of Justice. It’s not Todd Blanche that returns an indictment against James Comey. It’s the grand jury,” Blanche said.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has accused Comey of a pattern of dishonesty stretching back years.
“This is a guy who took classified information out of the FBI and lied about it. This is a guy who leaked to the media sensitive FBI material — lied about it. This is a guy who lied to a court to get wire taps. He lies, he lies, he lies. He cheats, he steals. This is a bad dude, and he ought to get everything that’s coming to him,” Hawley said.
Comey has asked a judge to drop the charges against him, arguing the “86 47” post was political speech protected under the First Amendment rather than a genuine threat against Trump, who has survived multiple assassination attempts.
