On Thursday, Judicial Watch announced it is suing the FBI for documents on James Comey’s book deal. In addition, the conservative watchdog is demanding the FBI hand over documents detailing coordination undertaken by Comey ahead of his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8th, 2017.
Via Judicial Watch:
Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Justice Department for FBI records about former Director James Comey’s book, which he signed to write in August 2017 and is set for publication in April 2018 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice, (No. 1:18-cv-00220)). […]
Judicial Watch filed suit on January 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Justice Department failed to respond to an August 14, 2017 FOIA request for:
-
All records of communications between the FBI and Comey prior to and regarding Comey’s testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 8, 2017.
-
All records of communications between the FBI and Comey relating to an upcoming book to be authored by Comey and published.
-
All records, including but not limited to forms completed by Comey, relating to the requirement for prepublication review by the FBI of any book to be authored by Comey with the intent to be published or otherwise publicly available.
Remember Comey’s memos detailing conversations he had with President Trump that were leaked to the New York Times?
On June 8th, Comey told Congress, “I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter [for The New York Times]. I didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.”
Turns out Comey’s “friend,” was Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, who is now his lawyer.
According to reports, the fired bureau head is pulling what The Federalist‘s Sean Davis believes is “amazingly dirty,” claiming attorney-client privilege after leaking “stolen documents,” to friend Daniel Richman, who he now says is his lawyer — a title Comey did not reveal Richman had during his sworn testimony before Senate investigators
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/955901899164782593
“That we have had to sue in federal court speaks volumes,” Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said in a statement last November.
According to the Washington Post, publisher Flatiron Books paid Comey $2 million advance for book, “Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership,” set for release on April 17th, 2018.
