File photo: On Thursday, June 8, 2017, former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Building on Capitol Hill.
Cherise May | Null Photo | Getty Images
A federal judge on Monday raised the possibility that criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey for lying to Congress obtained at President Donald Trump’s order may soon be dismissed.
Judge William Fitzpatrick’s proposal came as he ordered the Justice Department to release all grand jury materials related to Comey’s case to him by the end of the day.
Fitzpatrick said prosecutors may have violated the court order and Comey’s Fourth Amendment rights, which “establishes a reasonable basis for questioning whether the government’s actions were intentional or showed reckless disregard for the law.”
“The facts set forth herein and the court’s detailed findings establish that “there may be grounds for dismissing the indictment because of issues that arose before the grand jury,” Fitzpatrick wrote in his ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“We recognize that the government’s actions in this case, whether intentional, reckless, or negligent, raise questions of genuine misconduct,” the judge wrote.
The judge said he considered it an “unusual relief” by ordering the Justice Department to release all documents and recordings of the grand jury that indicted Comey.
“However, given the factual challenges raised by the defense to the government’s conduct and the prospect that government misconduct may have tainted the grand jury process, disclosure of grand jury materials under these unique circumstances is necessary to fully protect the rights of the defendants,” Fitzpatrick wrote.
CNBC has reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia for comment.
Comey was indicted on September 25 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on charges of false statements and obstruction in connection with his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020.
In his testimony, Comey denied authorizing another person at the FBI as an anonymous source for news reports about the investigation into 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her emails.
Mr. Comey has denied wrongdoing, but the charges come just days after Mr. Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute the former FBI director, a longtime enemy of the president.
The prosecutor who obtained the indictment against Mr. Comey, Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsay Harrigan, was handpicked by President Trump to become the Eastern District of Virginia after her predecessor balked at indicting Mr. Comey.
Mr. Comey’s trial is currently scheduled for January 5th.
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