Tension over evidence builds between Comey team and federal prosecutors as January trial looms

Former FBI Director James Comey on May 30, 2023. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

When former FBI Director James Comey was charged last month, prosecutors weren’t ready or willing to turn over the criminal case file to his lawyers.

As of Tuesday, after days of disputing what case documents they have to provide, prosecutors handed his lawyers what they needed to, a person familiar with the case told CNN.

Still, the back and forth over discovery this week highlights the growing tension between prosecutors’ approach to the Comey case — including these early attempts to delay turning over some evidence — and Judge Michael Nachmanoff’s efforts to get the former FBI director to trial in fewer than three months.

The brief but notable discovery standoff also has put more of a focus on the three we