The Department of Justice admitted Wednesday that the grand jury that charged former FBI Director James Comey did not review the final indictment. Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney leading the case, said only the foreperson and another grand juror saw the document.
The admission came as Comey asked a judge to dismiss the indictment, saying his prosecution is vindictive. Halligan sought Comey’s indictment after President Donald Trump forced previous U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert out after he refused to bring cases against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
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Before taking the role, Halligan had no experience as a prosecutor.
What was said in court?
A judge previously raised concerns over the grand jury’s indictment. The judge said he could find no record in a grand jury transcript that the jurors reviewed the indictment that the DOJ presented against Comey.
Halligan admitted under questioning that only the grand jury foreperson and a second grand juror were present for the return of the indictment.
Prosecutors said that instead of presenting a new indictment to the grand jury after it declined to approve one of the counts, Halligan brought an altered version for the foreperson to sign.
Comey’s attorney argued that given this testimony, “no indictment was returned.” He also said the statute of limitations had expired on Comey for the charge of lying to Congress.
The judge ordered the DOJ to address Halligan’s admission that she did not present the full grand jury with the final version of the indictment for approval. The department has until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to respond.
Before the hearing ended, the judge said he would not make a ruling on Wednesday since the issues are “too weighty and too complex.”
What is Comey charged with?
The DOJ charged Comey with making false statements to Congress and obstruction of justice. He has pleaded not guilty.
The charges stem from a 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. During the hearing, Comey testified about his handling of a case involving Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and an investigation into the allegations that Russia interfered in the 2020 presidential election to help Trump.
Prosecutors allege he misled the Senate by saying he didn’t authorize a leak to the media about an FBI investigation.
The indictment did not specify what statement was allegedly a lie. However, one key exchange was between Comey and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz asked Comey about testimony he gave in 2017 denying he was the source for stories about investigations into Trump or Clinton.
Some have said that was false, as former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said Comey authorized him to leak information to the media.
