In a surprising turn of events, federal prosecutors have hinted at a possible move to disqualify the attorney of former FBI Director James Comey.
The attorney in question, Patrick Fitzgerald, is alleged to have assisted Comey in the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, according to a filing made by the prosecutors on Sunday.
As reported by Conservative Daily News, Comey is currently facing charges for purportedly lying to Congress about authorizing an individual to serve as an "anonymous source in news reports" during his testimony in September 2020. He is also accused of obstructing a congressional proceeding. However, Comey's legal team has vehemently denied these allegations. In a filing made on Monday, they argued that the claim that Comey used Fitzgerald to leak classified information is "provably false."
"There is no good faith basis for attributing criminal conduct to either Mr. Comey or his lead defense counsel," the defense team wrote on Monday. They further dismissed the notion of a 'conflict' between Comey and his counsel, stating that there was no valid reason to disqualify the lead defense counsel.
The controversy stems from Comey's decision to send copies of four memos to Fitzgerald in May 2017, shortly after his dismissal by President Donald Trump. Comey instructed Fitzgerald to share these memos with his other attorneys, David Kelley and Daniel Richman. According to a 2019 report by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Comey directed Richman to share the contents of one of these memos, which detailed a conversation with Trump, with a New York Times reporter.
The OIG report reveals that Comey did not seek authorization from the FBI or notify anyone at the bureau before sharing these memos with Fitzgerald. The report also states that Comey deleted his electronic versions of the email and the PDF attachment that he sent, and did not retain a hard copy of either.
In their Monday response, Comey's attorneys argued that the four memos were "unclassified at the time they were shared with counsel." The OIG report confirms that the memo shared with the New York Times "did not contain any classified information." However, it also concludes that Comey's actions set a "dangerous example" for current and former FBI employees with access to non-public information.
Prosecutors, in their Sunday filing, suggested that this situation could potentially lead to a conflict of interest and disqualification for the current lead defense counsel. They also revealed that some of the evidence in the government's possession could be protected by attorney-client privilege. To address this, they have requested approval for a "filter team" to sift through and segregate any evidence subject to privilege claims.
The prosecutors have urged the judge to make a swift decision on the "filter protocol" to avoid any delays in the case. They argue that all parties should have access to all relevant and non-privileged information before any issues of conflict or disqualification are litigated.
However, the defense attorneys have opposed the government's request to expedite a ruling. They argue that the government's desire to avoid delay does not give them the right to conduct an unlawful review or violate Mr. Comey's privilege. They further dismissed the government's attempt to defame the lead defense counsel as baseless.
Fitzgerald, when approached for a comment, declined and referred to the defense's public filing. The unfolding of this case will undoubtedly be closely watched, given the high-profile nature of the individuals involved and the potential implications for attorney-client privilege.
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