Judge Blocks Grand Jury Material Release in Comey Case

A judge has stepped in to halt a broad order from prosecutors for grand jury materials to be handed over to the attorneys of former FBI Director James Comey. This intervention came late Monday from U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, who noted a “disturbing pattern of serious investigative errors” that may even lead to the charges against Comey, 64, being dismissed.

Following an appeal from Lindsey Harrigan, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff placed Fitzpatrick’s order on hold.

The appeal claimed that the magistrate’s order contravened the law and indicated that Fitzpatrick may have misinterpreted some facts in granting access to the grand jury materials for Comey’s defense.

Nachmanoff directed the Justice Department to present a complete brief opposing Fitzpatrick’s order by Wednesday at 5 p.m., requiring Comey to respond by Friday at the same time.

In a detailed 24-page order, Fitzpatrick accused authorities of neglecting attorney-client privilege to secure an indictment against Comey, who has long been a target of political adversaries. He pointed out “fundamental misrepresentations” made to the grand jury by Harrigan and noted unexplained misconduct surrounding the court docket. Fitzpatrick also criticized the FBI’s handling of four search warrants during its Arctic Haze investigation, which looked into how classified information was leaked to the media.

These warrants focused on Comey’s acquaintance and attorney, Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia, and sought access to Comey’s iPhone, iPad, iCloud account, and hard drive. The judge expressed concern that the government allowed Richman and his legal team to sift through potentially privileged material, despite knowing Richman was representing Comey as of May 9, 2017. Notably, three of the four warrants permitted searches of Richman’s devices until May 30, 2017—three weeks after their attorney-client relationship began.

Fitzpatrick remarked that while the FBI was cleared to inspect Richman’s materials, it could only gather evidence related to theft of government property and possession of national security information, which differed from the charges against Comey.

Pointing out that no evidence of privileged communication between Comey and Richman was directly shared with the grand jury, Fitzpatrick stated that materials seized as a result of the Richman warrant were nevertheless used in the government’s grand jury presentation.

He highlighted that only one FBI agent testified before the grand jury, lacking an adequate overview of the privileged communications between the two men. Fitzpatrick described it as “highly unusual” for investigators, who may have seen privileged information, to testify before a grand jury.

Moreover, he criticized remarks made by Harrigan, implying that Comey’s choice not to testify could imply guilt—a point Fitzpatrick noted is contrary to legal principles. He asserted that such comments could give the grand jury the impression that the burden of proof was wrongly shifted to Comey.

Comey, indicted on September 25 for lying to Congress and obstructing justice related to his 2020 Senate testimony, is set for trial beginning January 5, 2026. He and his legal team are contesting the case on several grounds, claiming illegal appointments and culpability on the prosecutors’ part.