A judge on Saturday hit Donald Trump's DOJ with a negative ruling, giving some positive news to a well-known critic of the president.
As Politico reported, "A federal judge dealt a setback Saturday to the Justice Department’s effort to re-indict former FBI Director James Comey, blocking prosecutors’ access to key evidence from email accounts and a computer belonging to close Comey friend and attorney Daniel Richman."
"U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted a temporary restraining order sought by Richman’s lawyers, requiring that the evidence be sequestered pending a ruling on Richman’s claim that the government illegally retained his emails and other data," the report states. "Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee based in Washington, issued the restraining order before getting a formal response from prosecutors to a petition Richman filed last week seeking return of his data. However, she said a lack of clear indication about who currently has the data and where it is stored supported her conclusion that a temporary order limiting access to the trove of records was warranted."
Legal analyst Anna Bower said, "Judge grants Daniel Richman’s request to temporarily block DOJ’s access to evidence taken from his electronic devices. Richman was a key figure in the now-dismissed prosecution of former FBI director James Comey. Order could complicate DOJ’s effort to re-indict Comey."
Josh Gerstein also added, "Judge complicates DOJ drive to re-indict Comey, orders his lawyer Dan Richman's emails & computer off limits to prosecutors. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly says likely Richman's rights were violated by govt's retention & use of the data."
Roger Parloff wrote, "Remarkable win for Prof Dan Richman (and Comey), at least temporarily."
"Judge Kollar-Kotelly orders USA not to access any info seized from Richman's devices—which Mag Judge Fitzpatrick called the centerpiece of the case vs Comey—till she permits," the legal analyst added Saturday.
Adam Klasfeld chimed in, "The evidence that another judge previously called central to the grand jury presentation leading to Comey’s indictment was likely obtained in violation of his lawyer’s Fourth Amendment rights. Feds can no longer access it, for now."
Remarkable win for Prof Dan Richman (and Comey), at least temporarily. Judge Kollar-Kotelly orders USA not to access any info seized from Richman's devices—which Mag Judge Fitzpatrick called the centerpiece of the case vs Comey—till she permits. https://t.co/CU7JurtXacpic.twitter.com/SL7wnOosBp
— Roger Parloff (@rparloff) December 7, 2025