"When the government first raised the privilege protocol with the defense, on October 10 and 11, the defense asked for an opportunity to review the underlying warrants at issue to determine whether Mr. Comey would agree to the protocol. The government refused to provide the warrants before filing its motion for a filter protocol, and did not produce the warrants until late in the evening of October 13, 2025."
"Judge Michael Nachmanoff described the main gist of the concern: The two main FBI investigators already peeked at the discussions among lawyers representing Comey back in 2019, including Dan Richman and Patrick Fitzgerald. He also states that the underlying warrants were "obtained by prosecutors in a different district more than five years ago[,] in an investigation that closed without criminal charges[,] and [] authorized the seizure of evidence related to separate offenses that are not charged here." Id. at 2."
Jim Comey filed an opposition to loaner AUSAs seeking a quick filter team to access materials seized in the 2019 investigation of Dan Richman. Key portions of that opposition were redacted under Sensitive discovery labels. Judge Michael Nachmanoff denied the request to accelerate the filter team, noting that two principal FBI investigators already viewed discussions among Comey’s lawyers in 2019 and that the underlying warrants were obtained over five years ago in a separate, closed investigation that produced no charges and authorized seizures related to different offenses. The lead investigator, Jack Eckenrode, has prior ties to Patrick Fitzgerald and previously participated in efforts to breach privilege in another case. The government declined to produce the warrants before seeking a filter protocol and provided them only late on October 13, 2025, while appearing to press for expedited review.
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