The chairmen of two House committees are asking the Justice Department for records related to Daniel Richman, the FBI “special government employee” who handled former FBI Director James Comey’s memos of conversations he had with President Donald Trump.
Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte and South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, the GOP chairmen of the House Judiciary and House Oversight and Government Reform Committees, are asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for Richman’s work records as well as information regarding his security clearance. (RELATED: Comey Shared Classified Memos With Friend)
Comey gave Richman four memos that he wrote after his meetings and conversations with Trump. Two of the documents contain classified information. Comey redacted classified portions of one of the memos before giving it to Richman. The Justice Department recently determined that another one of the memos contained classified information that Comey did not redact.
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating Comey’s handling of the documents.
After Comey was fired by Trump on May 9, 2017, he instructed Richman to share details of one of the memos with The New York Times. Comey has said that his goal was to force the appointment of a special counsel to continue the Russia investigation.
The leaked memo was from Comey’s Feb. 14, 2017 White House conversation with Trump regarding former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Comey claimed that Trump asked him to back off of an investigation of Flynn.
Details of Comey’s memo have trickled out slowly over the past year despite heavy pressure from Congress to make them public. The Justice Department released the documents on April 20, following subpoenas issued by Goodlatte, Gowdy and California Rep. Devin Nunes, a Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee.
In their new letter, Goodlatte and Gowdy are asking for details about who all received Comey’s memos.
They want to know the timeline of Richman’s work as a contractor, consultant or employee of the FBI as well as any of his job titles. Congressional sources have told The Daily Caller News Foundation that Richman enjoyed open access to the FBI’s offices during Comey’s tenure.
Comey told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview on April 26 that Richman began serving as his attorney after he was fired from the FBI.
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