US judge rebukes Justice Dept over case against Trump foe

Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, in a blistering 24-page opinion, ordered prosecutors in an extraordinary move to hand over grand jury materials in the case against Comey to his defense team.

"The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted," Fitzpatrick said.

"However, the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding."

The judge said the US district attorney who brought the case against Comey -- a prosecutor handpicked by Trump -- had made "fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process."

"Irregularities that occurred before the grand jury, and the manner in which evidence presented to the grand jury was collected and used, may rise to the level of government misconduct resulting in prejudice to Mr Comey," he said.

Grounds may exist to dismiss the indictment because of the handling of grand jury proceedings by the prosecution, the judge said.

- 'Vindictive' -

Comey has filed a separate motion seeking to have the charges thrown out on the grounds they are motivated by the "personal spite" of Trump and constitute a "vindictive and selective prosecution."

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has also been indicted by the Trump Justice Department, has sought to have her case tossed on the same basis.

James, who successfully prosecuted Trump for business fraud, has been indicted in Virginia on one count of bank fraud and a second count of making false statements to a financial institution.

Another Trump critic, his former national security advisor John Bolton, has been indicted on 18 counts of transmitting and retaining classified information.

Comey was appointed to head the FBI by then-president Barack Obama in 2013 and was fired by Trump in 2017.

The charges against Comey came days after Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against the former FBI director and others he sees as enemies -- a stunning departure from the principle that the Justice Department must be free from White House pressure.

The 79-year-old Trump -- the first convicted felon to serve as US president -- hailed the indictment, calling Comey "one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to."

Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.

cl/bjt