Comey admits he asked a friend to leak Trump memos hoping the DOJ would appoint a special prosecutor
Former FBI Director James Comey admitted Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee that he got a friend to leak memos of his conversations with President Trump to the press. Comey said he didn't personally share his written accounts of his talks with Trump regarding the Russia probe "for a variety of reasons," but got a friend to pass them along to a reporter because he believed it might "prompt the appointment of a special counsel." Shortly after the memos surfaced, Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, was tapped to lead an independent investigation into the Trump team's ties to Russian election meddling.
Comey said Trump's tweeting prompted him to decide to leak the memos. He said he woke up in the middle of the night after Trump threatened Comey in a tweet with "tapes" of their conversations, realizing that he needed to get his version of events "out into the public square."
Comey indicated the friend who did the leaking was a professor at Columbia Law School. Politico's Gabriel Debenedetti connected the dots back to Columbia Professor Daniel Richman, whose bio describes him as "an adviser" to Comey.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in RussiaThe Explainer Ukraine reportedly deployed the long-range British missiles this week, following a tense meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump
-
Dry skin, begone! 8 products to keep your skin supple while travelingThe Week Recommends Say goodbye to dry and hello to hydration
-
Crossword: October 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operationsSpeed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois