Released Docs Indicate Former Director Had A ‘Point Man’ To Clarify Details To The Press
If the newly released “Arctic Haze” documents are accurate, James Comey’s carefully cultivated public image as the straight-arrow lawman may be about to shatter for good.
The memos, declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and delivered to Congress by FBI Director Kash Patel, don’t just raise questions about Comey’s judgment—they depict a calculated, behind-the-scenes operation to weaponize the FBI’s credibility against a sitting president, all with Barack Obama’s knowledge and approval.
The revelations confirm what many suspected during the Russia collusion years: leaks weren’t just springing from random corners of the bureaucracy—they were coordinated at the very top.
According to FBI records, Comey enlisted Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman as a personal media conduit, granting him a top-level security clearance and access to highly classified information, some at the SCI level. Richman’s job? Feed favorable stories to the New York Times and “shape future press coverage” while circumventing the FBI’s official press channels.
Richman admitted to FBI agents that he spoke regularly with Times reporter Michael Schmidt—whose work would later win a Pulitzer for coverage of Russian election interference. While Richman claimed he didn’t knowingly pass classified material to reporters, he couldn’t say so with absolute certainty, conceding that his denial came “with a discount.” That’s lawyer-speak for “maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”
The Arctic Haze investigation found that numerous Russia collusion-era news stories contained illegally leaked classified intelligence. Yet, in classic Washington fashion, no one was charged—not Comey, not Brennan, not Clapper, not even Rep. Adam Schiff, who a whistleblower alleged openly discussed leaking classified material to damage Trump. Schiff’s staff reportedly shrugged off the risk, confident they’d never be caught.
This is where the scandal metastasizes beyond the FBI. Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist has long argued the media should be investigated for its role in amplifying what we now know was a fabricated narrative.
Without willing partners in the press, the Russia hoax would never have gained traction, much less become the political firestorm it was.
The irony is rich. In trying to take down Trump, the legacy media destroyed its own credibility, hollowing out trust in journalism to the point where millions of Americans now seek alternative news sources. And after all that, Trump is not only politically alive—he’s back in the Oval Office.