o borrow a line from a fellow Missourian, reports of the Comey prosecution’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Despite the media’s best efforts to wish it away, former FBI Director James Comey is very much still facing the music. Comey was indicted in late September on two counts stemming from his testimony during a September 2020 congressional hearing — the very same hearing where he delivered the kind of evasive, carefully lawyered answers that became his trademark at the FBI:
False statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the United States Government [18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2)]
Obstruction of a Congressional proceeding [18 U.S.C. § 1505]
There was some chatter Wednesday afternoon after a hearing on Comey’s latest attempt to wriggle off the hook — this time by claiming “vindictive prosecution.” During the proceeding, U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff of the Eastern District of Virginia reportedly pressed DOJ attorneys about an apparent discrepancy between the indictment form shown to the grand jury and the version ultimately filed with the court:
The Justice Department acknowledged Wednesday that the grand jury that indicted former FBI Director James Comey was never shown the final version of the charges.
Prosecutors revealed the lapse under questioning by the judge overseeing the case. Comey’s attorneys argued the omission warrants dismissing the indictment. The judge did not immediately rule.
In a back-and-forth in Judge Michael Nachmanoff’s courtroom in the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday, DOJ attorney Tyler Lemons admitted that the indictment handed up on Comey was never fully reviewed by the full grand jury. Instead, Halligan brought an altered version to the magistrate’s courtroom for the grand jury’s foreperson to sign.
Naturally, this led the ‘mainstream media’ to produce some rather ominous headlines and stories:
Trump’s DOJ Admits Comey Grand Jury Never Saw Final IndictmentComey case hanging by a thread as judge squeezes DOJ over Halligan’s handling
And that development came right on the heels of a Monday ruling by Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, who ordered the DOJ to hand over grand jury materials to Comey’s defense team — something that almost never happens under normal circumstances.
o borrow a line from a fellow Missourian, reports of the Comey prosecution’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Despite the media’s best efforts to wish it away, former FBI Director James Comey is very much still facing the music. Comey was indicted in late September on two counts stemming from his testimony during a September 2020 congressional hearing — the very same hearing where he delivered the kind of evasive, carefully lawyered answers that became his trademark at the FBI:
False statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the United States Government [18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2)]
Obstruction of a Congressional proceeding [18 U.S.C. § 1505]
There was some chatter Wednesday afternoon after a hearing on Comey’s latest attempt to wriggle off the hook — this time by claiming “vindictive prosecution.” During the proceeding, U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff of the Eastern District of Virginia reportedly pressed DOJ attorneys about an apparent discrepancy between the indictment form shown to the grand jury and the version ultimately filed with the court:
The Justice Department acknowledged Wednesday that the grand jury that indicted former FBI Director James Comey was never shown the final version of the charges.
Prosecutors revealed the lapse under questioning by the judge overseeing the case. Comey’s attorneys argued the omission warrants dismissing the indictment. The judge did not immediately rule.
In a back-and-forth in Judge Michael Nachmanoff’s courtroom in the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday, DOJ attorney Tyler Lemons admitted that the indictment handed up on Comey was never fully reviewed by the full grand jury. Instead, Halligan brought an altered version to the magistrate’s courtroom for the grand jury’s foreperson to sign.
Naturally, this led the ‘mainstream media’ to produce some rather ominous headlines and stories:
Trump’s DOJ Admits Comey Grand Jury Never Saw Final IndictmentComey case hanging by a thread as judge squeezes DOJ over Halligan’s handling
And that development came right on the heels of a Monday ruling by Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, who ordered the DOJ to hand over grand jury materials to Comey’s defense team — something that almost never happens under normal circumstances.