Government watchdog Judicial Watch has issued a lawsuit against the FBI for documents related to fired Director James Comey's new book, A Higher Loyalty. The filing comes after the FBI ignored a Freedom of Information Act request in March for the documents. Here is what they are looking for:
All records of communications between the FBI and former FBI director James Comey relating to an upcoming book to be authored by Mr. Comey and published.
All records, including but not limited to forms completed by former FBI director James Comey, relating to the requirement for prepublication review by the FBI of any book to be authored by Comey with the intent to be published or otherwise publicly available.
This is not the first lawsuit Judicial Watch attorneys have filed regarding Comey's book. In fact, they've issued six lawsuits against the Department of Justice for documents about his book deal and memos Comey wrote after conversations with President Donald Trump. Additionally, they've requested information about the former director's mishandling and leaking of classified information to the press through a friend. Notably, Justice Department attorneys working under Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked a judge to dismiss at least one of the lawsuits. That request was denied.
As noted by Judicial Watch, Comey reportedly received a $2 million advance for his book. The usual process for publishing as a current or former government official requires an individual to "submit the entire transcript for pre-publication review."
“James Comey illegally took and then leaked material from his FBI memos in order to get a Special Counsel appointed to target President Trump. And so now Judicial Watch is asking questions about whether James Comey is getting special treatment from the FBI to use these ill-gotten FBI documents in his book,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton released in a statement.
Meanwhile the FBI just missed the deadline to turn over unredacted versions of Comey's memos to members of Congress.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member