Federal prosecutors have admitted that the full grand jury did not see the final version of the indictment against former FBI director James Comey, a concession that adds to mounting challenges in the case. The admission came during a Wednesday hearing in which Comey's lawyers argued the charges should be dismissed as a selective and vindictive prosecution.
Comey was indicted on 25 September on one count of making a false statement to Congress and one count of obstructing a congressional proceeding. The charges relate to testimony he gave in 2020, in which he said he had not authorised someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports regarding Hillary Clinton.
Court documents show that Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally installed as a top prosecutor in the case, had sought an additional false statement charge, but grand jurors rejected it. After the rejection, Halligan could have presented the revised two-count indictment to the full grand jury for approval, but instead only the foreperson and another juror saw it, prompting Comey's lawyers to argue that the indictment is null.
Andrew Tessman, a former federal prosecutor, called the omission a 'fatal flaw', saying 'this is just not how grand jury operates'. Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney, said she could not recall a situation where the entire indictment was not shown to the grand jury, but noted the error might be harmless if the two counts were identical to those approved. Halligan, a former insurance lawyer with no prior criminal experience, presented the case to the grand jury herself.
The government maintains the issue does not doom the case, arguing the final indictment merely removed a rejected charge and the remaining counts are identical. However, a transcript of the hearing shows confusion over two versions of the indictment, and the judge has yet to rule on the defence's motion to dismiss.
