Comey
(Getty
Images)
Sometimes,
the
wheels
of
justice
turn
slowly.
Sometimes
they
move
at
warp
speed.
This
is
one
of
the
latter,
thanks
to
the
Justice
Department’s
shenanigans.
On
Saturday
evening,
Judge
Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly
effectively
sealed
the
evidence
in
the
government’s
case
against
former
FBI
director
James
Comey.
The
ruling
came
in
a
suit
filed
by
Daniel
Richman,
Comey’s
friend
and
sometimes
lawyer,
who
demanded
the
return
of
files
seized
from
him
in
2019
and
2020
as
part
of
the
“Arctic
Haze”
investigation
into
the
leak
of
national
defense
information.
The
government
closed
that
investigation
without
charge
and
should
have
destroyed
or
sealed
the
evidence
years
go.
Instead
it
simply
pulled
it
out
of
storage
and
dove
back
in
when
Trump
demanded
that
someone
indict
Comey.
The
DOJ
never
even
sought
a
new
warrant,
using
material
seized
from
Richman
five
years
ago
to
secure
the
now-dismissed
Comey
indictment.
The
legality
of
that
search
was
hotly
contested
this
year,
with
Magistrate
Judge
William
Fitzpatrick
assigned
to
adjudicate
Comey’s
demand
for
discovery
into
the
potential
illegal
search
and
exclusion
of
the
Richman
evidence.
The
case
was
dismissed
before
the
motion
was
adjudicated,
leaving
the
government
free
to
keep
looking
at
the
documents
without
having
to
justify
the
search.
For
the
time
being,
that’s
on
hold,
thanks
to
Judge
Kollar-Kotelly’s
order.
The
court
also
prodded
the
Justice
Department
to
quit
playing
games
and
enter
an
appearance
in
Richman’s
lawsuit,
citing
the
DOJ’s
intransigence
as
the
primary
reason
for
granting
Richman
ex
parte
relief.
Rule
41(g)
Motion
Two
days
after
Judge
Cameron
Currie
dismissed
Comey’s
indictment
because
Lindsey
Halligan
isn’t
a
real
US
Attorney,
Richman
filed
a
Rule
41(g)
request
for
the
return
of
the
evidence
seized
from
him
back
in
2019.
He
also
asked
for
injunctive
relief
barring
the
government
from
“searching,
relying
on,
or
reviewing”
his
files
pending
resolution
of
his
claims.
After
a
week
ticked
by
with
no
response
from
the
Justice
Department,
Richman’s
counsel
emailed
Jocelyn
Ballantine,
Deputy
Chief
of
the
National
Security
section
at
the
US
Attorney’s
Office
in
DC.
He
asked
if
the
government
would
agree
not
to
paw
through
Richman’s
records
while
the
motion
was
being
adjudicated,
obviating
the
need
for
a
temporary
restraining
order.
Ballantine
promised
to
reach
out
to
her
superiors
at
Main
Justice
and
respond
by
the
close
of
business
on
Thursday,
but
Thursday
came
and
went
with
no
word.
At
9
p.m.,
Richman’s
lawyers
pinged
her
again,
and
Ballantine
replied
that
she’d
get
back
to
him
“early
next
week.”
To
be
fair
to
Ballantine,
she
was
pretty
busy
on
Thursday
with
the
criminal
complaint
against
the
DNC/RNC
pipe
bomb
suspect
Brian
Cole,
Jr.
But,
intentionally
or
not,
the
delay
had
the
effect
of
allowing
the
DOJ
extra
time
to
trawl
through
Richman’s
files.
And
the
DOJ’s
failed
effort
to
re-indict
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James
—
also
on
Thursday!
—
made
it
clear
that
the
Trump
administration
is
hell
bent
on
carrying
out
the
president’s
revenge
edict,
despite
Lindsey
Halligan’s
disqualification.
“Absent
a
TRO,
the
government
may
continue
to
use
the
property
in
a
manner
that
violates
Professor
Richman’s
rights—particularly
in
light
of
recent
news
reports
that
the
DOJ
may
seek
a
new
indictment
of
Mr.
Comey,”
his
lawyers
wrote
in
the
application
for
emergency
relief
filed
Friday.
By
Saturday
evening,
their
request
was
granted.
Knock
it
off
and
show
up
In
a
brief,
four-page
order,
Judge
Kollar-Kotelly
held
that
Richman
is
likely
to
succeed
on
the
merits
of
his
Rule
41(g)
claim
for
return
of
property.
“The
Court
concludes
that
Petitioner
Richman
is
likely
to
succeed
on
the
merits
of
his
claim
that
the
Government
has
violated
his
Fourth
Amendment
right
against
unreasonable
searches
and
seizures
by
retaining
a
complete
copy
of
all
files
on
his
personal
computer
(an
‘image’
of
the
computer)
and
searching
that
image
without
a
warrant,”
she
wrote.
Ordinarily,
a
court
allows
the
party
opposing
a
motion
to
respond
before
entering
relief.
But
here,
Judge
Kollar-Kotelly
pointedly
dinged
the
DOJ
for
refusing
to
participate
in
the
case
in
an
official
capacity.
Eleven
days
after
the
suit
was
filed,
no
one
from
the
Justice
Department
has
bothered
to
enter
an
appearance.
This
is
particularly
egregious
since
the
US
Attorney’s
Office
has
been
in
contact
with
the
judge’s
chambers
and
Ballantine
participated
in
that
multi-day
colloquy
with
Richman’s
counsel.
The
government
can
hardly
claim
that
it’s
been
caught
unaware!
This
wheeze
allowed
investigators
to
keep
accessing
the
disputed
files,
while
avoiding
questions
about
their
location
and
custody
—
which
is
mighty
convenient,
in
light
of
news
reports
that
the
government
intends
to
re-indict
Comey
imminently.
“Given
that
the
custody
and
control
of
this
material
is
the
central
issue
in
this
matter,
uncertainty
about
its
whereabouts
weighs
in
favor
of
acting
promptly
to
preserve
the
status
quo,”
the
judge
wrote,
adding
that
“counsel
for
the
Government
may
move
to
dissolve
or
modify
this
Order
immediately
upon
entering
an
appearance,
and
the
Court
will
resolve
any
such
motion
as
promptly
as
justice
requires.”
The
government
will
remain
locked
out
of
the
files
through
at
least
Friday.
The
court
also
ordered
the
DOJ
to
enter
an
appearance
and
respond
to
Richman’s
motion
by
9
a.m.
Tuesday.
Now
to
find
some
assistant
US
Attorney
in
DC
willing
to
put
their
name
on
this
cursed
shitpile
and
explain
then
everything
that
went
down
here
is
very
cool
and
very
legal
…
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