Justice Department ordered to turn over Comey grand jury docs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) — In a terse order Tuesday, a federal judge accused the U.S. Department of Justice of not handing over a complete record of remarks made to the grand jury that indicted former FBI director James Comey.

U.S. District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a Bill Clinton appointee, gave the DOJ one day to correct the misstep.

By 5 p.m. Nov. 5, the department must submit, for in camera review, a complete transcript or recording of all statements made by the indictment’s signer — interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan — to the grand jury on Sept. 25, the day Comey was indicted.

A DOJ spokesperson declined comment when asked via email why all information had not been given to the judge.

A high-profile critic of President Donald Trump, Comey faces charges of making false statements within the jurisdiction of the U.S. legislative branch and obstruction of a congressional proceeding in connection with testimony he gave five years ago.

But he argues that the prosecution is vindictive and the product of the president’s personal animus.

The former FBI director also challenges the lawfulness of Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Her name appears alone at the end of Comey’s indictment.

Separately, Halligan also signed the indictment charging Letitia James, New York’s attorney general and another notable Trump adversary, with mortgage fraud. James is likewise questioning Halligan’s role in her case.

Currie, a South Carolina federal court judge, oversees the facet of the case involving the appointment of Trump loyalist Halligan to the cases. In court filings, the judge recounted that she had directed the government to submit, for in camera review, “all documents relating to the indictment signer’s participation in the grand jury proceedings, along with complete grand jury transcripts.”

The DOJ sent a package of information Oct. 31. Currie reviewed the transcript and found, “It fails to include remarks made by the indictment signer both before and after the testimony of the sole witness, which remarks were referenced by the indictment signer during the witness’s testimony.”

Of the three-count indictment Halligan initially presented the grand jury with, “The grand jury returned a ’no true bill’ on the first count. Yet after staying well past normal court hours, the grand jury returned a true bill on the other two counts by only a slim majority. Only Ms. Halligan signed the indictment,” according to court filings by Comey.

In demanding a complete transcript, Currie specified that she wanted statements made prior to and after the testimony of the witness and during the presentation of the three-count and subsequent two-count indictments.

Halligan is described in court filings as an insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience. Defense attorneys say that her appointment violates law governing how vacancies are filled. In an effort to tamp down the controversy, Attorney General Pamela Bondi gave Halligan another title — special attorney — to evade doubt as to the validity of that appointment, she said.

As special attorney, Halligan has authority to conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal, Bondi wrote in the memo dated Oct. 31. She added that should a court conclude that Halligan’s authority is limited to particular matters, and supervision of the Comey and James cases would be delegated to Halligan.