Judge scolds Justice Department for 'disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps' in Comey case

Judge scolds Justice Department for ‘disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps’ in Comey case Politics Nov 17, 2025 12:02 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department engaged in a “disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” when it secured 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 William Fitzpatrick, include “fundamental misstatements of the law” by a prosecutor to a grand jury that indicted Comey in September, the use of potentially privileged communications in the investigation and unexplained irregularities in the transcript of the grand jury proceedings.

“The Court recognizes that