1 hour ago
1
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Lindsey Halligan, the interim US attorney who secured the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, admitted to the trial judge Wednesday that the full grand jury never saw the final version of the charges against the former top lawman.
Halligan told US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff that “the foreperson and another grand juror was also present” when she presented a revised version of the indictment that dropped one count the 24-person panel could not agree on.
Another prosecutor, Tyler Lemons, insisted the revision meant “there was not a new indictment,” but only small changes made.
Grand jurors were initially presented with a bill accusing Comey, 64, of two counts of making false statements to Congress and one count of obstruction of justice. However, one of the false statement counts failed to get majority buy-in from the panelists, resulting in the two-count indictment being handed up.
When pressed further by Nachmanoff, Lemons also admitted the full panel never saw the two-count indictment.
In response, defense attorney Michael Dreeben called for the case to be thrown out, claiming the indictment had not been properly secured before the expiration of the five-year statute of limitations Sept. 30.
The charges against Comey stem from his claim to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020, that he never authorized leaks about high-profile FBI investigations to the press.
He is slated to go on trial on Jan. 5, 2026, but has sought to get the case tossed out on multiple grounds, claiming both vindictive prosecution and the unlawful appointment of Halligan.
Comey scored a major win in the case Monday when Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ordered Halligan’s office to turn over their grand jury materials to Comey, finding evidence of “a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that … potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.”
Nachmanoff paused Fitzpatrick’s order until he could complete a review of the feds’ arguments seeking to overturn Fitzpatrick’s ruling.
Halligan was handpicked by President Trump to lead the Eastern District of Virginia US Attorney’s office, and was installed by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Her predecessor, Erik Siebert, resigned as the interim US Attorney after Trump criticized him for refusing to prosecute another of Trump’s political enemies New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Halligan — a former beauty queen and insurance lawyer — went before a grand jury for the first time the day after her appointment and secured the indictment against Comey.
Both Comey and James — who is charged with bank fraud — claim Bondi used up her one-time 120-day temporary appointment on Siebert and therefore, Halligan is unlawfully in the position without the consent of Congress.
Halligan’s office claims the AG has the power to use multiple 120-day appointments.
Comey and James have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and claim they were targeted by the 47th president in retaliation of being outspoken critics of him.
James is accused of lying on mortgage papers claiming she would be the primary resident of a second home she bought in 2020 in Norfolk, Va. Instead, the feds say, she allowed her grandniece to move in and collected rent from her.
English (US)