Judge Suggests DOJ ‘Missteps’ Could Sink Comey Case

A federal magistrate judge suggested Monday that “profound investigative missteps” by the government could provide former FBI Director James Comey grounds for having his case dismissed.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick granted Comey’s request to review typically secret grand jury material, finding “government misconduct may have tainted” the proceedings.

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

Comey faces charges for allegedly lying to Congress during his September 2020 testimony and obstructing a congressional investigation. The government alleges he authorized Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman to leak information, despite testifying that he had not “authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports” regarding an investigation into Hillary Clinton.

Prior to bringing the indictment, the government reviewed evidence obtained through search warrants issued in 2019 and 2020 as part of a different investigation. Comey’s defense team expressed concern that case agents may have been exposed to attorney-client privileged materials, as Richman served as Comey’s personal attorney after he was fired as FBI director.

Judge Michael Nachmanoff, a Biden appointee overseeing the Comey case, directed Fitzpatrick to consider the issues raised by Comey’s defense.