DOJ desperation exposed in ‘portrait of belligerence’ late Friday court filing: NYT

Federal prosecutors hauled two New York apartment building workers before a Florida grand jury and threatened to charge a former FBI aide with obstruction as they pursued former FBI Director James Comey, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The Times said the late Friday filing “added additional details to a portrait of belligerence, showing just how far investigators have been willing to roam in their pursuit of Mr. Comey.”

The filing, from longtime Comey confidant Daniel Richman, backs CNN’s effort to unseal Justice Department submissions in a case related to the Comey prosecutions.

But it also amounts “to a bill of particulars,” The Times reported, detailing how Richman and his lawyers say the Trump administration “badgered him as it continued to pursue Mr. Comey.”

“Recent actions by the government suggest that the government’s interest in the covered materials is not related to a viable investigation but instead part of a harassment campaign, which undermines any law enforcement interest the government may have in sealing,” Richman’s lawyers wrote.

According to the filing, the building workers were summoned after they refused to let an FBI agent inside to serve Richman with a subpoena. Prosecutors accused Richman of dodging it and threatened to charge him with obstruction, though Richman said his lawyers had already agreed to accept it on his behalf.

Three prosecutors gave Richman different answers about whether he was a target of the investigation, his lawyers said. The filing also described uncertainty over whether prosecutors would grant him immunity, according to The Times.

Richman ultimately invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The Justice Department did not respond to the outlet's request for comment.