On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a ruling that prevents prosecutors from using evidence obtained from Daniel Richman's email accounts and personal computer. Richman, a law professor and confidant of former FBI Director James Comey, is considered a key figure in the investigation regarding whether Comey misled Congress. The judge's decision comes as the Justice Department seeks to re-indict Comey, who has been accused of making false statements during his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020.

The court's ruling was based on Richman's claim that the government unlawfully retained his emails and other data, which may include attorney-client privileged information. Kollar-Kotelly noted that Richman is likely to succeed in his argument that the government's actions violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Richman had previously assisted Comey by leaking memos detailing Comey's conversations with President Trump, which contributed to the initiation of the Mueller investigation. The evidence in question was obtained by federal authorities in 2017 following Comey's dismissal by Trump, which led to the leak of the memos.

In September, the Justice Department indicted Comey, alleging he made false statements regarding the authorization of an anonymous source within the FBI. However, a federal judge recently dismissed this indictment, citing issues with the appointment of the interim U.S. Attorney overseeing the case.

The ruling issued on Saturday will remain in effect until at least December 12, as the court continues to evaluate the legality of the government's retention of Richman's data.