Overview
- Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ordered prosecutors to provide James Comey’s team with all grand jury materials after finding a pattern of “profound investigative missteps.”
- Fitzpatrick identified two statements to grand jurors that he said appeared to be fundamental misstatements of law, including on drawing inferences from a defendant’s choice not to testify.
- The judge flagged potential exposure of attorney‑client communications and noted that an FBI agent who had seen potentially privileged material later testified to the grand jury.
- He also questioned irregularities in the grand jury record, including missing communications after deliberations began and uncertainty over how a second indictment version was presented.
- The Justice Department sought a stay, and U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff temporarily froze disclosure while objections proceed, leaving a Jan. 5, 2026 trial date on the calendar but under strain.