The federal investigation surrounding former FBI Director James Comey appears to be widening, with a grand jury reportedly issuing a subpoena to one of his closest longtime friends and advisers.
Daniel Richman, a Columbia Law School professor who previously served as a special government employee at the FBI, was subpoenaed Monday as federal investigators revisit allegations involving the disclosure of sensitive FBI information to the media, according to Fox News.
The development suggests the Department of Justice is taking a fresh look at a controversy that has followed Comey for years: whether information from inside the FBI was improperly funneled to reporters, including at the New York Times.
Richman isn’t a peripheral figure in that story.
He played a central role in the original investigation into Comey-era leaks and has acknowledged communicating with reporters on Comey’s behalf. Investigators previously seized material from his devices, a move Richman later challenged in court as a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.
Now, federal prosecutors are reportedly returning to him.
An Old Controversy Gets New Life
Questions surrounding Comey’s interactions with Richman date back to Trump’s first administration.
Comey famously testified in 2017 that he asked a friend to provide the contents of one of his memos about conversations with Trump to a reporter, hoping the disclosure would lead to the appointment of a special counsel.
That friend was Richman.
Federal investigators subsequently examined Comey’s handling and disclosure of FBI information. According to Fox News, Richman later became a significant figure in investigations concerning communications with reporters about politically explosive FBI matters surrounding the 2016 presidential election.
The latest subpoena indicates federal investigators are once again digging into those relationships.
It also comes as Comey faces separate legal trouble stemming from his controversial “86 47” social-media post.
The Infamous ’86 47′ Post
Comey ignited a political firestorm in May 2025 when he posted a photograph showing seashells arranged to read “86 47.”
Critics interpreted the message as a reference to killing or removing Trump, the 47th president. Comey denied that interpretation and deleted the post, saying he had assumed the numbers were a political message.
Comey has since argued that the post constituted protected political speech rather than a genuine threat.
Federal authorities, however, have said their case extends beyond a single photograph.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said in May that evidence had been gathered over roughly 11 months before being presented to a grand jury.
“This is not just about a single Instagram post,” Blanche said, emphasizing that a grand jury ultimately decided there was sufficient evidence to return an indictment.
Comey has asked a federal judge to dismiss the charges.
Comey Back Under the Microscope
Republican lawmakers have also renewed their longstanding criticism of Comey’s conduct at the FBI.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has accused the former director of leaking sensitive information, misleading Congress and abusing the FBI’s surveillance authorities. Comey and his defenders have disputed accusations that his conduct amounted to criminal wrongdoing.
The new subpoena does not establish wrongdoing by Richman or Comey. But it does show that federal investigators are still actively pursuing evidence surrounding one of the most controversial chapters of Comey’s tenure.
Years after Comey’s battles with Trump first consumed Washington, the former FBI director is once again facing scrutiny from federal prosecutors.
And this time, a grand jury is asking questions of the man who once helped carry Comey’s information to the press.