Judge flags issues in comey case
'Profound investigative missteps' could erode grand jury proceeding
By: Aysha Bagchi
USA Today
..... In a blistering opinion that highlighted a host of potential irregularities in the way the Justice Department under President Donald Trump secured an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, a federal judge in Virginia said there may be ground to dismiss the case.
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The record "points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury processing," wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick on November 17. [2025]
..... Fitzpatrick was ruling on a request from Comey to see the materials from the grand jury that indicted him September 25. [2025] Although those materials are typically kept secret, even from a defendant, Fitzpatrick said the circumstances of Comey's case warranted giving him access.
..... The government's 'actions in this case - whether purposeful, reckless, or negligent - raise genuine issues of misconduct, are inextricably linked to the government's grand jury presentation, and deserve to be fully explored by the defense," the judge wrote.
..... The Justice Department and lawyers for Comey didn't immediately respond to request of comment.
..... Comey, an Allendale native, was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding during testimony he gave before a Senate committee in 2020. The charge carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, although federal sentences typically fall blow top penalties. The ex-FBI director, who has publicly declared he is innocent, pleaded not guilty in October. [2025]
..... Fitzpatrick is serving an eight-year term as a magistrate judge after being selected for that role bu the full district judges in that area in 2022. He is a former longtime federal prosecutor who served under Democratic and Republican presidents.
..... The judge raised a series of potential issues with the way Comey, a longtime critic of Trump, was indicted.
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Newly appointed prosecutor Lindsy Halligan, a former personal lawyer to Trump, was installed around September 20, 2[205] the day after Trump posted on social media that Comey was "guilty as hell" and delay was not an option, Halligan secured the indictment Sept4eember 25. [2025]
..... Halligan was installed after the former head of the U.S. Attorney's Office she is now running in Virginia, reportedly expressed skepticism about the potential case against Comey.
..... Fitzpatrick wrote in his November 17 [2025] opinion that there is evidence to suggest the government could have used information protected by attorney-client privilege to prepare its presentation to the grand jury.
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"This is particularly troublesome because the government's sole witness before the grand jury was exposed to a 'limited overview' of privileged material shortly before he testified," the judge wrote.
..... Fitzpatrick also expressed concerns about whether the grand jury was given accurate information. He said two statements by Halligan to the grand jurors "appear to be fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process.
..... The statements by Halligan are redacted in Fitzpatrick's public opinion.
..... On October 29, [2025] U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, who is presiding over the Comey case as a whole, appointed Fitzpatrick to manage proceedings dealing with how the government handled privileged materials in obtained in the case.
..... Nachmanoff was appointed to the federal bench by former President Joe Biden.
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While full district judges are nominated by presidents and then confirmed to their roles by the Senate, magistrate judges are appointed by courts and may then be asked to handle issues within felony criminal cases.