President Donald Trump's Justice Department may not be able to even get its case against former FBI Director James Comey to trial, one CNN reporter said Tuesday morning.
CNN crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz recalled that Comey's lawyers are demanding access to the grand jury transcripts and other information presented to garner an indictment.
In that ongoing debate, Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick in the Eastern District of Virginia reviewed the grand jury transcripts. He wrote that he found a "disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps" by U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, which imperils her case against Comey.
In his Monday memorandum opinion, Fitzpatrick wrote, "the prosecutors told the grand jury [REDACTED]. That statement clearly suggested to the grand jury that they did not have to rely on the record before them to determine probable cause but could be assured the government had more evidence—perhaps better evidence—that would be presented at trial."
Polantz told CNN This Morning, "There is going to be a little bit more back and forth in court over whether the defense team can access this grand jury information, the transcripts," because "the Justice Department is fighting it." However, the words used by Fitzpatrick are not ones that lawyers "want to see."
"The record points to adisturbing pattern of profoundinvestigative missteps. Misstepsthat led an FBI agent and aprosecutor to potentiallyundermine the integrity of thegrand jury proceeding," the full allegations from Fitzpatrick said. "Here, theprocedural and substantiveirregularities that occurredbefore the grand jury, and themanner in which evidencepresented to the grand jury wascollected and used, may rise tothe level of governmentmisconduct resulting inprejudice to Mr. Comey."
Polantz said that this sets "up a realpossibility down the line, thatthe Justice Department may noteven get this case to a trial."
CNN host Sara Sidner pointed out that this is the first case Halligan has ever prosecuted.