Judge says government ‘missteps’ in James Comey's case could result in the dismissal of the charges

A federal judge in Virginia on Monday warned prosecutors that their case against former FBI Director James Comey could be in jeopardy after he found the government's handling of the case raises "genuine issues of misconduct" that could result in dismissal of the charges

A federal judge in Virginia on Monday warned prosecutors that their case against former FBI Director James Comey could be in jeopardy after he found the government's handling of the case raises "genuine issues of misconduct" that could result in dismissal of the charges.

In his ruling, Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick granted a request from Comey's lawyers, who had asked prosecutors to turn over grand jury materials from Comey's indictment. He acknowledged that his order was an unusual step, but that "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."

Among the missteps Fitzpatrick had said he found in reviewing the grand jury proceedings in the case were statements to the panel by acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump who had no prosecutorial experience.

Halligan’s office and the Justice Department declined to comment. Prosecutors quickly appealed the ruling, asking U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff to put Fitzpatrick's order on hold, arguing that the magistrate judge “may have misinterpreted some facts” in his order, which they said is “contrary to law.”

Later Monday, Nachmanoff granted prosecutors' request and asked the government to file its objections to Fitzpatrick’s order by 5 p.m. on Wednesday and asked Comey’s team to do the same by 5 p.m. on Friday.