Washington: The Trump administration’s prosecution of one of President Donald Trump’s top political enemies was dealt a major blow after a judge made a rare intervention upon finding “government misconduct” may have tainted the case.
Former FBI director James Comey, who oversaw probes into Hillary Clinton’s emails and the alleged ties between Trump associates and Russia in 2016, was indicted on criminal charges in September, days after Trump instructed his attorney-general, Pam Bondi, to expedite the prosecution of several political enemies.
US President Donald Trump, former FBI director James Comey and US Attorney Lindsey Halligan.Credit: AP
A grand jury indicted Comey on charges of making false statements to a 2020 Senate hearing and obstructing a congressional investigation, and he faces jail time if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.
But on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), magistrate William Fitzpatrick identified several irregularities with Comey’s indictment, and, in what Fitzpatrick himself described as a rare and extraordinary move, ordered all grand jury evidence to be unsealed and handed over to Comey.
“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 wrote in a scathing ruling.
In particular, he questioned the actions of Trump’s former personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, whom Trump then installed as a prosecuting attorney to pursue Comey and other political enemies, when she presented to the grand jury.
Protesters outside court when former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty in October.Credit: Bloomberg
Halligan – who has never been a prosecutor – had only been appointed to the job days earlier, amid Trump’s frustrations with apparent resistance from her predecessor about pursuing the prosecutions.
“The court has identified two statements by the prosecutor to the grand jurors that on their face appear to be fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process,” Fitzpatrick found.
