Federal prosecutors in Virginia have reopened an inquiry into whether former FBI Director James Comey leaked classified material, focusing on his relationship with Columbia law professor Daniel Richman and raising the prospect of a third DOJ indictment.

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have revived an investigation into whether James Comey disclosed classified information to a friend and longtime confidant, Daniel Richman. Officials say the probe centers on documents Comey shared with Richman, who previously held a security clearance and badge access at the FBI. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has been holding meetings about the matter in recent weeks, though no grand jury decision has been announced.

The inquiry builds on Comey’s own June 2017 testimony that he arranged for at least one memo of private conversations with President Trump to reach The New York Times through a friend. That admission anchors the current review and puts the Richman connection at the center of questions about classified handling. Prosecutors are revisiting whether any of the material was classified and whether its disclosure was authorized.

Daniel Richman was more than an informal contact; he served as an FBI special government employee from mid-2015 until February 2017, with reported badge access and a security clearance. Sources say he worked on “special projects” assigned by Comey and later defended Comey publicly during the Clinton email probe. The timeline of Richman’s departure matters to legal exposure: if classified material passed through him after he left, or if it was classified regardless of timing, there are serious implications.

The Justice Department’s inspector general already concluded Comey violated FBI policy by retaining and leaking memos of his conversations with the president. That official finding criticized the conduct and set a factual backdrop prosecutors must contend with as they weigh charges. The inspector general wrote:

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