Comey may have given Richman access to the FBI database for statistical use on "scholarly papers" Richman has written…in exchange for his leaking services.
Professor's are required to publish and often need a database to prove or disprove their thesis. It would be REALLY handy for Richman to have access to the FBI database for any and all of his research papers.
Here's a link to a list of some of his papers.As well as the title of two examples.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=937729
Papers by Daniel C. Richman that would need a database of
Columbia Law School
Federal White Collar Sentencing in the United States – A Work in Progress
Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 12-295
Posted: 05 Feb 2012 Last Revised: 22 May 2012
Understanding Recent Spikes and Longer Trends in American Murders
Columbia Law Review, Vol. 117, No. 5, 2017, Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 14-546
Posted: 04 May 2017 Last Revised: 21 Jun 2017