Judge chides Justice Department for ‘disturbing pattern of profound investigative errors’ in Comey case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department engaged in a “troubling pattern of profound investigative errors” in the process of obtaining an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, a federal judge ruled Monday directing prosecutors to turn over all grand jury material from the case to defense lawyers.

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Judge William Fitzpatrick wrote that these issues include “fundamental errors of law” by the prosecutor before the grand jury that indicted Comey in September, the use of privileged communications during the investigation, and unexplained irregularities in the transcript of the grand jury proceedings.

“The court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted. However, the record indicates a troubling pattern of profound errors in the investigation, errors that led an FBI agent and prosecutor to undermine the integrity of grand jury proceedings,” Fitzpatrick wrote.

The 24-page opinion is the sharpest assessment yet by a judge of the Justice Department’s actions that led to Comey’s indictment. This case, along with a separate trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James, has raised concerns that the Justice Department is being used as a weapon to pursue political opponents of President Donald Trump.

Both defendants filed multiple motions to dismiss the cases against them before trial, arguing that the prosecutions were inappropriately retaliatory and that the prosecutor who filed the charges, Lindsay Halligan, was illegally appointed.

Comey’s lawyers sought material from the grand jury because of concerns that irregularities in the process had tainted the case. The only prosecutor who defense lawyers say presented the case to the grand jury was Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience who was appointed just days earlier to the position of interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Fitzpatrick earlier this month had asked prosecutors to provide grand jury materials for the defense, but then the lower court ordered him to examine the matter further. In his order issued Monday, Fitzpatrick said that after reviewing the grand jury proceedings himself, he was deeply concerned about the integrity of the case.

“Here, the procedural and substantive irregularities that occurred before the grand jury, and the manner in which the evidence presented to the grand jury was collected and used, may amount to governmental misconduct that prejudices Mr. Comey,” Fitzpatrick said.

Halligan did not immediately return a message seeking comment and a spokesperson for the office declined to comment.

Fitzpatrick listed among the violations two different comments made by the prosecutor — likely Halligan — to the grand jury, which he said represented “fundamental errors of law.” The actual data was redacted, but Fitzpatrick said the prosecutor appeared to ignore the fact that grand jurors cannot reach an adverse conclusion about someone who, like Comey, exercised his constitutional right not to testify.

The judge also raised concerns that the transcript of the grand jury proceedings was incomplete.

The two-count indictment accuses Comey of lying to Congress in September 2020 when he indicated during questioning that he did not authorize the FBI to leak information to the media. His lawyers say the question he was answering was vague and confusing, but the answer he gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee was correct.

The line of questioning by Senator Ted Cruz appears to focus on whether Comey allowed his former deputy, Andrew McCabe, to speak to the media. But since the indictment, prosecutors have clarified that their indictment focuses on allegations that Comey allowed a separate person, close friend and Columbia Law professor Dan Richman, to serve as an anonymous source in interactions with reporters.