Comey case judge warns potential "investigative missteps" could sink indictment

""[T]he record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding," Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick wrote in a Monday opinion. He questioned whether the government had overstepped by using evidence from a prior search warrant and using materials that could have been privileged to shape the grand jury indictment."

"The judge also expressed concern about whether Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, properly presented the final version of the charging document to the grand jury. If she didn't, he wrote, "then the Court is in uncharted legal territory." He listed several other potential missteps by the government during the case, saying that grounds "may exist to dismiss the indictment because of a matter that occurred before the grand jury.""

Comey's defense was granted access to grand jury materials under a court order, an uncommon procedural step. The government filed an emergency motion to stay that order, arguing the court may have misinterpreted some factual findings. The record reveals potential investigative missteps, including reliance on search warrants from a prior probe and use of materials that could be privileged to shape the indictment. Questions also arose about whether the interim U.S. attorney properly presented the final charging document to the grand jury. Those issues could undermine the proceeding and may provide grounds to dismiss the indictment.

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