COMEY: I gave my memos to a friend to leak them because I felt a special counsel should be appointed

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June 8, 2017 6:53 PM

James Comey hinted at the identity of the source who provided the content of his memos of conversations with President Donald Trump to the media.

James Comey.

Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday helped reveal the identity of the source who provided the news media with the content of his memos of conversations with President Donald Trump.

Testifying in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said he instructed a close friend who was a Columbia law professor to leak information on the memos.

Daniel Richman was later revealed to be that professor. He confirmed that he was the source of the memos' contents to The Huffington Post and other outlets.

A Columbia law professor, Richman was previously quoted in The New York Times as a "close friend of Mr. Comey's who helped woo him to Columbia in 2013."

Richman told The Times in mid-May that he spoke with Comey "several times since he was fired."

Reached by Business Insider initially after Comey's comments, Richman said he had "no comment" on Comey's testifying that the source was a Columbia law professor.

Comey said he instructed the professor to provide information on the memos because he felt the investigation may have reached the point at which a special counsel needed to be appointed. That followed Trump tweeting that Comey should hope "no tapes" exist of their conversations.

Jeremy Berke contributed to this report.

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