ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) – The Justice Department says the grand jury that indicted former FBI Director James Comey was not presented with a copy of the final indictment.
Prosecutors acknowledged this fact Wednesday under questioning from the judge overseeing the case.
Mr. Comey’s lawyers said the lapse is grounds for dismissal of the case. There was no immediate decision from the judge.
This is the latest news. Previous articles from the Associated Press are below.
FBI Director James Comey gestures while speaking about cybersecurity at the First Annual Boston Conference on Cybersecurity held at Boston University on March 8, 2017 in Boston. (AP Photo/Stéphane Savoia, File)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — james comey On Wednesday, his lawyers renewed efforts to dismiss the criminal case, telling a judge that the prosecution was unfairly retaliatory and rooted in President Donald Trump’s hatred of the former FBI director.
“It is unconstitutional for the president to use the Justice Department to criminally prosecute his most vocal and prominent critics in order to punish and deter those who speak out against him,” attorney Michael Dreeben told U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff.
Government lawsuit appears to be in jeopardy Another judge criticized the department. at the beginning of the week. There are also multiple challenges to dismissing the charges.
Mr. Comey has pleaded not guilty. Charged with making false statements and obstructing Congress and denied any wrongdoing. He has challenged the legitimacy of the hastily appointed prosecutors who brought charges against the Trump administration, arguing that he was chosen because of personal antipathy for the Republican president, an argument that is being discussed before Nakhanov.
The Justice Department denies that prosecutors were retaliatory or selective and maintains the charges support the charges.
Motions alleging vengeful prosecution are often unsuccessful. In arguing for his removal, Mr. Comey’s lawyers described the lawsuit as the result of Mr. Trump’s pursuit of retaliation. President Trump fired Comey as FBI director in May 2017. Comey oversaw the FBI’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
The two sides have since clashed in public, with President Trump deriding Comey as a “weak, lying slimeball” and calling for Comey to be prosecuted.
Former FBI Director James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing at the Capitol on June 8, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
President Trump amplified these demands in a social media post in September. In it, he filed a complaint with Attorney General Pam Bondi. About his lack of action against his political opponents. “We cannot delay it any longer. This will tarnish our reputation,” Trump wrote, adding, “Justice must be served now!!!”
“If this is not the direction of the prosecution, I would be really at a loss to say what the facts are,” Dreeben said in court.
On the night of his inauguration, President Trump announced the appointment of Lindsey Harrigan, a White House aide with no experience as a prosecutor, as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Harrigan replaces veteran prosecutor Who was effectively forced out of their jobs? After failing to indict Comey and other Trump enemies; New York Attorney General Letitia James;
Days later, as the statute of limitations approached in the case, Mr. Harrigan secured Mr. Comey’s indictment.
Mr Dreeben said Mr Harrigan “did what he was told”.
He also said the government “cannot use the power of criminal prosecution to silence critics who violate First Amendment rights.”
On Monday, Federal Judge William Fitzpatrick criticized Harrigan’s handling of the case, calling it a “disturbing pattern of serious investigative errors” in the process of securing the indictment. Fitzpatrick said the charges include that the Justice Department misrepresented the law to the grand jury, but it’s unclear whether those errors will lead to the indictment being dismissed.
