Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s handpicked U.S. lawyer who brought charges in opposition to former FBI Director James Comey, instructed a choose Wednesday that the total grand jury that indicted Comey didn’t see the ultimate indictment — solely the foreperson and one other grand juror did.
Halligan’s testimony got here in a listening to Monday during which Comey is searching for to have the indictment thrown out on the grounds that it is the product of a vindictive prosecution.
Halligan stated the total grand jury noticed the unique indictment that was offered, however that the fees in opposition to Comey which are at present on the court docket docket weren’t reviewed by the total grand jury.
A Justice Division lawyer additionally refused to reply whether or not a memo ready by profession prosecutors within the U.S. lawyer’s workplace previous to Halligan’s appointment recommended against bringing costs in opposition to Comey.
Halligan sought the indictment of Comey after Trump forced out earlier U.S. lawyer Erik Siebert who sources stated had resisted bringing instances in opposition to Comey and New York Lawyer Normal Letitia James. Halligan, who had no expertise as a prosecutor, sought the indictment after Trump, in a social media put up, referred to as on Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi to act “NOW!!!” to prosecute Comey, James and Rep. Adam Schiff.
Comey pleaded not guilty in October to at least one depend of false statements and one depend of obstruction of a congressional continuing associated to his testimony earlier than the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, amid what critics name Trump’s campaign of retribution in opposition to his perceived political foes. Vice President JD Vance has stated any such prosecutions are “pushed by regulation and never by politics.”
“Was there a declination memo?” the choose requested DOJ lawyer Tyler Lemons throughout Wednesday’s listening to, relating to the existence of a memo recommending in opposition to bringing costs.
Ousted FBI director James Comey listens throughout a listening to earlier than the Senate Choose Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill, June 8, 2017.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
“I do not know the world of what paperwork exist,” Lemons initially stated, to which the choose requested, “You didn’t search to search out out whether or not there was a declination memo?”
Lemons lastly instructed the court docket that he did search to search out out if a declination memo existed, however stated he was below instruction from Deputy Lawyer Normal Todd Blanche’s workplace to not disclose the reply.
“What’s it that the workplace of the deputy lawyer normal instructed you you can not say?” the choose requested, to which Lemons solely stated he was conscious of assorted draft memos.
Comey’s legal professionals have argued that the prosecutors are partaking in an act of political retribution on the behest of President Trump, who they allege “expressly sought costs whatever the details” with the intention to punish Comey for his outspoken criticism of the president.
“Bedrock ideas of due course of and equal safety have lengthy ensured that authorities officers might not use courts to punish and imprison their perceived private and political enemies. However that’s precisely what occurred right here,” Comey’s legal professionals argued in court docket filings.
Amid an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling within the 2016 election, Trump abruptly fired Comey in 2017 and has repeatedly referred to as for him to be criminally charged.
“Goal proof establishes that President Trump directed the prosecution of Mr. Comey in retaliation for Mr. Comey’s public criticisms and to punish Mr. Comey due to private spite,” Comey’s attorneys argued, saying that the case needs to be thrown out as a result of Trump has “real animus” for the previous FBI director, and the case itself would seemingly not have been introduced absent the intervention of the president himself.
“When no profession prosecutor would perform these orders, the President publicly compelled the interim U.S. Lawyer to resign and directed the Lawyer Normal to effectuate ‘justice’ in opposition to Mr. Comey,” Comey’s legal professionals argued.
The 2-count indictment in opposition to Comey claims that he lied to Congress when he testified that he by no means licensed different FBI officers to leak data to the press, regardless of allegedly directing a Columbia College professor to go data to a New York Instances reporter. Comey pleaded not guilty to the fees and denies ever authorizing anybody on the FBI to leak data on his behalf.
Prosecutors argue that Comey’s movement falls in need of the excessive authorized normal to show a vindictive prosecution, claiming that he can’t show the case was introduced “solely to punish” him for his criticism of the president. Highlighting Comey’s position main the FBI, prosecutors argued that him making false statements “implicates societal pursuits of the best order. “
“The Govt can’t be anticipated to disregard company heads mendacity about official actions just because they later turn into outspoken critics,” prosecutors argued.
Prosecutors have additionally argued that Halligan, who made the bizarre transfer to current Comey’s indictment earlier than a grand jury on her personal, doesn’t have animus for Comey, even when the president does.
Prosecutors additionally pushed again on the declare that Trump’s social media posts show that the prosecution is vindictive; as a substitute, they argue that Trump’s social media posts alleging Comey dedicated crimes create “a years-long report of professional” causes to convey a case in opposition to the previous FBI director.
“The defendant primarily cites the President’s social-media posts. These posts mirror the President’s view that the defendant has dedicated crimes that needs to be met with prosecution. They could even recommend that the President disfavors the defendant. However they aren’t direct proof of a vindictive motive,” prosecutors wrote.
Wednesday’s listening to got here as Halligan’s actions are attracting scrutiny from a Justice of the Peace choose who expressed alarm {that a} “disturbing sample of profound investigative missteps” might have irreparably harmed the case. In a scathing ruling on Monday, Choose William Fitzpatrick stated he recognized a minimum of two cases when Halligan made “basic misstatements of the regulation” throughout her grand jury presentation in addition to raised considerations that Comey’s indictment might not have been absolutely offered to the grand jury.
“If this process didn’t happen, then the Court docket is in uncharted authorized territory in that the indictment returned in open court docket was not the identical charging doc offered to and deliberated upon by the grand jury,” Fitzpatrick stated.
Fitzpatrick ordered prosecutors at hand over audio recordings of the grand jury proceedings to protection legal professionals, although U.S. District Choose Michael Nachmanoff delayed that call to listen to objections from prosecutors. The dispute is predicted to return up throughout Wednesday’s listening to along with the movement to dismiss.
Comey is at present set to go to trial on Jan. 5.
