Judge in Comey case scolds prosecutors over lack of records

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ALEXANDRIA, Virginia. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered prosecutors in former FBI Director James Comey's criminal case to provide lawyers with a trove of investigative materials, saying he was concerned that the Justice Department's position had been to “prosecute first” and investigate later.

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U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ordered prosecutors to present by the end of the day Thursday the grand jury materials and other evidence investigators seized during the investigation. The order followed arguments in which Comey's lawyers said they were at a disadvantage because they had not yet had the opportunity to verify information collected years ago as part of an investigation into FBI leaks to the media.

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Comey, who attended the hearing but did not speak, is accused of lying to Congress in 2020 in a case brought days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other alleged political enemies. Comey has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argue it is a vindictive charge brought at the behest of the Republican president and should be dropped.

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Fitzpatrick expressed his concerns, telling lawyers on Wednesday: “The procedural position of this case is highly unusual.” He said he believes the Justice Department decided to “charge first” and investigate later.

Comey's lawyers have already requested a transcript of the grand jury proceedings, citing irregularities in the process and potential legal and factual errors that they say could lead to the case being thrown out.

On Wednesday, Fitzpatrick ordered prosecutors to turn over grand jury materials and also directed them to provide lawyers with evidence obtained through search warrants in 2019 and 2020 from Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor and close friend of Comey.

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Richman is taking part in the case because prosecutors say Comey encouraged him to discuss FBI matters with reporters and say Comey therefore lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee five years ago when he denied authorizing leaks to the media. Comey's lawyers deny he made a false statement and say the question he answered from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was vague and confusing and appeared to focus not on Richman but on another man, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

Comey's lawyers told the judge that the government did not show them materials taken from Richman, who previously worked as Comey's lawyer, and therefore could not have known what information was confidential and could be improperly used as evidence.

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“We'll fix it, and we'll fix it today,” the judge said.

Comey's indictment comes days after Trump called on Attorney General Pam Bondi in a social media post to take action against Comey and other longtime enemies of the president. The indictment was brought by Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide and Trump lawyer who was appointed U.S. attorney after the longtime prosecutor overseeing the investigation resigned under administration pressure to bring charges against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The Justice Department defended the president's social media post in court papers earlier this week, arguing that it reflected a “legitimate motive for the prosecution” and was not grounds for dismissing the indictment.

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