Court filings identify person Comey allegedly authorized to leak information

James Comey's attorneys have identified 'Person 3' in the DOJ's criminal charges as Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor and Comey's close friend who previously worked as a special government employee at the FBI. The DOJ alleges Comey lied during a 2020 Senate hearing when he claimed he never authorized FBI personnel to serve as anonymous sources regarding the Clinton investigation.

Comey's defense team contends the indictment is fundamentally flawed, arguing that Senator Cruz's questioning specifically concerned Andrew McCabe, not Richman, and that the charges misrepresent Comey's actual testimony. The case involves an FBI investigation called 'Arctic Haze' that examined classified information appearing in a 2017 New York Times article. Comey's lawyers argue the prosecution is politically motivated, filed just before the statute of limitations expired.