The magistrate judge raised the question of whether “government misconduct” in the case might require dismissing the charges against the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, altogether.

The Justice Department engaged in a “disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” in the process of securing an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, a federal judge ruled Monday in directing prosecutors to provide defense lawyers with all grand jury materials from the case. “The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted,” Fitzpatrick wrote.

The Justice Department engaged in a “disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” in the process of securing an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, a federal judge ruled Monday in directing prosecutors to produce to defense lawyers all grand jury materials from the case. Those problems, wrote Magistrate Judge…

The 24-page opinion is the most blistering assessment yet by a judge of the Justice Department’s actions leading up to the former FBI director’s indictment.

WASHINGTON >> A U.S. judge found today there is evidence of misconduct in how a federal prosecutor closely aligned with President Donald Trump secured criminal charges against James Comey, and ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to the former FBI chief’s defense lawyers.

An FBI agent witness and President Donald Trump's former defense attorney turned brand new prosecutor may have compromised the case before the grand jury.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said that the government's handling of the case raises "genuine issues of misconduct."

In a rare and scathing judgment, a federal judge accused the Department of Justice of prosecutorial misconduct in the case against James Comey, saying the record reveals “a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps.”

A judge on Monday found evidence of

The attorney leading the case, who had never worked as a prosecutor, may have made significant errors in presenting evidence. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

A federal judge in Virginia on Monday ordered prosecutors to turn over grand jury materials in the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey after he found the government's handling of the case raises "genuine issues of misconduct" that could result in dismissal of the charges. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said in his ruling that the type of relief Comey's lawyers are seeking is "rarely granted" but that "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." The ruling directs the government to turn over the material to Comey's team by the end of the day. Among the missteps Fitzpatrick said he found in reviewing the grand jury proceedings in the case were statements to the panel by acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump who had no prosecutorial experience. Fitzpatrick wrote that the court "identified…