A grand jury indicted former FBI Director James Comey in September on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Comey pleaded not guilty on October 8.
Comey's legal troubles are just beginning, however, as federal prosecutors are seeking to remove Comey defense attorney Patrick Fitzgerald from his case, citing a conflict of interest.
BREAKING: Prosecutors signal they may seek to oust Patrick Fitzgerald as James Comey's defense atty in false-statement/obstruction case. Fitzgerald's role in 2017 disclosure of Comey memos to media could be insurmountable conflict, feds say. w/@kyledcheney https://t.co/qJ8rmnuQ82
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) October 20, 2025
Federal prosecutors signaled Sunday that they may seek to boot Patrick Fitzgerald, James Comey’s lead defense attorney, because of Fitzgerald’s alleged involvement in disclosures to the media shortly after President Donald Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017.
In a submission Sunday evening, prosecutors suggested to U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff that Fitzgerald, Comey’s lawyer and close friend, could have an insurmountable conflict of interest as a result of the disclosures.
Fitzgerald was U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and was appointed by Comey as special prosecutor on the CIA-leak/Valerie Plame case in 2003. Fitzgerald joined Comey's legal team in 2017.
Federal prosecutors assert Fitzgerald is personally involved in the facts at issue in the case, namely, the handling of Comey's FBI memos after Comey was fired.
Prosecutors Tyler Lemons and Gabriel Diaz wrote in their filing, "Based on publicly disclosed information, the defendant used current lead defense counsel to improperly disclose classified information. This fact raises a question of conflict and disqualification for current lead defense counsel."
The filing points to a 2019 report from the Justice Department of Inspector General that says Fitzgerald acted as a "middleman" to get information from Comey to the media in the days before President Trump fired him. Comey later acknowledged during Senate hearing testimony that he had ask his friend, Columbia law professor Daniel Richman, to pass information to the New York Times. The Inspector General report said some of that information was classified.