Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richman is a close friend of former FBI Director James Comey. Image by YouTube

By Aiden Pink June 8, 2017

Former FBI Director James Comey revealed in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that he had instructed a friend to share the contents of memos he wrote summarizing his meetings with President Trump with the media, because he “thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.” Shortly thereafter, that friend, Daniel C. Richman, revealed his identity to reporters.

Richman is a professor at Columbia Law School and a former New York federal prosecutor and consultant to the Justice and Treasury departments. His bio on Columbia’s website lists him as an advisor to Comey, who worked as a New York prosecutor at the same times as Richman. The New York Times described Richman as a “longtime confidant and friend” who “helped woo” Comey to take a research position at Columbia in 2013.

Richman has frequently defended Comey in the media. In a November interview with the Times, Richman criticized those who questioned Comey’s choice about informing Congress of a new inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s email conduct shortly before the election, and last month he denounced Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (who wrote the memo used to justify Comey’s firing), telling Politico that Rosenstein was “a useful patsy.”

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Richman is married to freelance writer and consultant Alexandra Bowie and has two adult children.

Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink.

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