Federal prosecutors revealed on Monday that they found numerous personal emails showing that then-FBI Director James Comey had publicly expected to be working for President-elect Hillary Clinton soon before the 2016 election, and was being kept informed about efforts to anonymously leak information to the media by a senior FBI aide.

Comey’s strategy to play the victim against charges of misleading Congress backfired as prosecutors and his former agency unleashed a barrage of new evidence showing the former FBI Director sought to please Clinton, encouraged media leaks he claimed he did not authorize, and wrote emails and memos that directly contradict his past congressional testimony.

The files, discovered by FBI Director Kash Patel in the FBI headquarters’ incinerator-bound records room and secret archives, included evidence that Comey used a personal email account to conduct FBI business.

This included media strategy with senior officials. Simultaneously, his agency was investigating Clinton for her improper use of personal emails for government business.

In one of the emails to Daniel Richman, a former FBI official, Comey wrote, "I think I can make him smarter." In this email, the two discussed attempts to influence a New York Times reporter about his coverage of the Clinton email scandal.

In court, Comey denied authorizing staff to anonymously leak information or speak to reporters, but Justice Department filings claim, "Consistent with the correspondence described above, Richman extensively corresponded with journalists on behalf of, or related to, the Defendant, including anonymously."

Among the evidence was also a handwritten note from September 2016 that appears to mention Comey being briefed on tapped communications from U.S. intelligence agencies suggesting Clinton planned to fabricate a Trump-Russia collusion scandal. Comey told senators he could not recall whether he was aware of it.

Federal prosecutors stated in court documents that they discovered multiple personal emails showing Comey publicly saying he expected to be working for President-elect Hillary Clinton soon before the 2016 election and was being kept informed about efforts by his friend Richman to anonymously provide information to the media.

A September 2016 handwritten note, released by the Department of Justice, contained details of him being briefed on the so-called "Clinton plan intelligence" that alleged Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign planned to tie Trump to Russia.

A handwritten note from September 26, 2016, submitted as evidence by the Justice Department, reads "HRC plan to tie Trump." HRC refers to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Excerpt from Benny Johnson's X account.

Comey, who was fired as FBI Director by President Donald Trump in 2017, oversaw both the political investigation into Hillary Clinton’s unlawful use of a private email server to send classified information, and the baseless Trump-Russia collusion investigation.

Despite investigating Clinton for her improper use of a private email server, Comey himself used a personal, anonymous Gmail account to discuss FBI matters with Richman.

Richman had previously admitted in interviews with agents that he regularly communicated with New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt on behalf of his longtime friend Comey. Schmidt’s article was part of a 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning work by New York Times reporters covering Russian election interference.

According to FBI internal memos, Richman stated outside of official FBI public affairs that his goal was "to correct articles critical of Comey and the FBI and to influence future media coverage."

In an email dated October 30, 2016, among the evidence released by the Justice Department, Comey wrote, "To me. No need. It’s better to yell at wind at this point. You will figure it out eventually. As Jack and Ben noted, my decision will be one that President Clinton will be very grateful for (of course, I did not make the decision for that reason.)"

Another email, dated November 21, 2016, shows that in response to planting a New York Times story criticizing Trump the day before the election, Comey told FBI special official Daniel Richman, "Well done, friend. Who knew this would be so much fun. It will be really fun."

The email was sent from a Gmail account under the alias "Reinhold Niebuhr," his supposed pseudonym.

Regarding the indictment of Comey, the Justice Department stated, "The societal interest in this prosecution is manifest and compelling," adding, "The defendant made material false statements to Congress about his conduct as the head of the nation’s principal federal law enforcement agency. His prosecution implicates the highest level of societal interest."

By Sung Ku Hong, Chief Reporter, NNP USA / Special Correspondent for this paper NNP info@newsandpost.com