The U.S. Department of Justice has admitted that the grand jury hearing the case against former FBI Director James Comey did not receive a copy of the final indictment against him.
The revelations were made Wednesday as Comey’s lawyers sought to have the charges dismissed.
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During a 90-minute hearing in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, Comey’s lawyers argued that the case should be dismissed outright, citing not only prosecutorial failures but also President Donald Trump’s interference.
Comey is one of three prominent Trump critics to be indicted between late September and mid-October.
The hearing was held before U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, during which Comey’s lawyers argued that Trump was using the judicial system as a means of political revenge.
“This is an unusual case and deserves unusual relief,” defense attorney Michael Dreeben said, calling the charges “a blatant use of criminal justice to achieve political ends.”
The Justice Department, represented by prosecutor Tyler Lemons, argued that the indictment met the legal standards to be tried in court.
However, under cross-examination, Lemons admitted that the grand jury that approved the indictment had not seen the final draft.
When Judge Nakhanov asked Lemons if the grand jury had not seen the final version, the prosecutor acknowledged, “That’s my understanding.”
It was the latest stumbling block in the Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute Comey on charges of obstructing a congressional investigation and lying to senators while under oath.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to the two charges, and his defense team is leading a multifaceted effort to exonerate him from multiple fraud cases.
Scrutiny of grand jury procedures
Questions surrounding the indictment and what the grand jury did or did not see have been surfacing since last week.
On Nov. 13, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Curry questioned the period during grand jury proceedings during which “no court reporter appeared to be present.”
And on Tuesday, Judge William Fitzpatrick took the unusual step of requiring Comey’s defense team to release grand jury materials, citing a “disturbing pattern of serious investigative errors.”
These included misleading statements by prosecutors, the use of a search warrant related to another case, and the fact that the grand jury likely did not fully consider the final indictment.
Separately, during Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Nakhanov pressed Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Harrigan about who had seen the final indictment.
After repeated questioning, she also admitted that only the Grand Jury Foreman and the Second Grand Jury were present for the return of the indictment.
Harrigan oversaw three prosecutions against Trump critic Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former national security adviser John Bolton.
All three deny wrongdoing and say their prosecutions are part of a political vendetta.
Spotlight on the feud between Trump and Comey
Wednesday’s hearing focused primarily on proving that allegation, with Comey’s lawyers pointing to statements made by Trump promoting the prosecution.
Mr. Comey’s lawyers pointed to the strained relationship between their client and Mr. Trump, dating back to the president’s decision to fire him as FBI director in 2017.
Comey had faced bipartisan criticism over the FBI’s investigation into the 2016 election, which Trump ultimately won.
For example, President Trump accused the former FBI director of going easy on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, calling her a “slimeball,” “a charlatan,” and “a real piece of shit.”
“FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her free permission to do so many bad things,” Trump wrote on social media in May 2017.
Meanwhile, Comey quickly established himself as a prominent critic of the Trump administration.
“I don’t think he’s medically unfit to be president. I don’t think he’s morally unfit to be president,” Comey told ABC News in 2018.
He added that the president must “embody respect” and adhere to core values such as telling the truth. “This president can’t do that,” Comey said.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Comey’s defense attorneys also pointed to the chain of events leading up to the former FBI director’s indictment.
Last September, President Trump posted a message to Attorney General Pam Bondi on social media, calling Comey and James “guilty as hell” and encouraging them “not to delay any further” indictments.
Mr. Comey’s lawyer, Mr. Dreeben, said the message was “effectively an admission that this was a political prosecution.”
Shortly after the message was posted online, Mr. Harrigan was appointed acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
She replaced prosecutor Eric Siebert, who reportedly declined to indict Comey and others due to lack of evidence. President Trump has accused him of being a “woke RINO,” an acronym for “Republican in Name Only.”
Mr. Dreeben also argued that the switcheroo showed Mr. Trump’s vengeful intentions and that he was spearheading the prosecution of Mr. Comey.
But on behalf of the Justice Department, Lemons told Judge Nachmanoff that Comey “was not prosecuted at the direction of the President of the United States or any other government official.”
