Judge orders Justice Department to give grand jury materials to Comey's defense team

A federal judge on Monday directed the Justice Department to give all grand jury materials related to its investigation into former FBI Director James Comey to Comey's defense team, citing a "disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps."

Comey was charged in September with obstruction of justice and making a false statement to Congress. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges and challenged the legitimacy of the case under Eastern District of Virginia U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick determined that the department engaged in the "disturbing pattern" when securing Comey's indictment, including by sharing potentially privileged communications during the investigation, and making “fundamental misstatements of the law” to the grand jury, per the Associated Press.

“The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “However, the 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.”

Fitzpatrick also said that after reviewing the grand jury transcript himself, he was concerned with the integrity of the case. 

“Here, the procedural and substantive irregularities that occurred before the grand jury, and the manner in which evidence presented to the grand jury was collected and used, may rise to the level of government misconduct resulting in prejudice to Mr. Comey,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Justice Department has asked the judge to place a hold on the ruling while it objects, and said it believed he “may have misinterpreted” some facts in issuing the ruling.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.