Newly declassified FBI memos reveal what many suspected for years: former FBI Director James Comey wasn’t just hostile to President Donald Trump — he was actively feeding classified intelligence to the liberal press to damage him. And he wasn’t doing it alone.
According to current FBI Director Kash Patel, these memos — which Deep State holdovers fought to keep hidden — show that in early 2017, Comey used an intermediary to pass secret information to outlets like The New York Times. This wasn’t whistleblowing. It was targeted political warfare: the information always cut against Trump, and the FBI wasn’t just leaking — it was assisting reporters in how to frame it for maximum political damage to a sitting U.S. president.
That “assistance” reportedly included arranging interviews with senior FBI officials to “corroborate” the preferred narrative. Among those interviewed were Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the same officials later caught in private text messages discussing how to “stop Trump” from becoming president and referring to themselves as an “insurance policy” against him.
The memos also name Comey’s go-between: Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, who admitted to the FBI that he “routinely” communicated with a New York Times contact on Comey’s behalf.
The legal exposure here is real. Normally, leaking classified material carries a five-year statute of limitations. But when a leak is determined to have been intentional — as appears to be the case here — that window extends to ten years. That gives Trump’s Justice Department until 2027 to prosecute.
As Just The News founder John Solomon explained in a Fox News appearance, the statute of limitations clock is still running — meaning accountability is possible:
? WOW! James Comey has just been exposed for ORDERING the FBI to leak classified information information to the New York Times during Trump’s first term, per newly declassified docs
Comey needs to be LOCKED UP.
There’s a ten year statute of limitations on the willing and… pic.twitter.com/8LtN0f2sMw
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 13, 2025
This wasn’t an isolated incident either. Just this week, it emerged that Rep. Adam Schiff was also leaking classified intelligence to the press during the same period — both moves aligning with the broader effort to drive the discredited Russia-collusion narrative.
The pieces fit a larger puzzle. In 2016 and 2017, powerful Democrats, senior intelligence officials, and Clinton campaign operatives were aligned in pushing unverified or falsified claims that Trump was a Russian asset. The operation had the backing — and reportedly the direct involvement — of President Barack Obama. The goal wasn’t investigation; it was political removal.
Under federal law, seditious conspiracy covers any plot by two or more people to overthrow or destroy the U.S. government, or to oppose its authority by force. Conviction can mean up to 20 years in prison. If leaking classified material to manufacture grounds for a president’s removal isn’t the textbook definition, it’s hard to imagine what is.
The clock is ticking. If the memos are accurate and the leaks were deliberate, the DOJ has the legal tools — and the time — to hold Comey and his collaborators accountable. The question is whether anyone in Washington has the will to finally act.