Justice of the Peace Choose William Fitzpatrick simply dropped a authorized mic on prosecutors within the James Comey case. In a blistering 24-page opinion, he ordered the Division of Justice to show over all grand jury supplies associated to the Comey indictment to the protection. (Although the federal government has asked for a stay in complying with the order whereas the file their objections.) As a result of, regardless of the Trump administration’s greatest efforts, due course of continues to be a factor.
And if this appears extremely uncommon, properly, you’re not flawed! However prosecuting your political enemies over the objections of career prosecutors can also be extremely uncommon (or a minimum of it was once, pre-2025) in order that’s the place we’ve landed.
Fitzpatrick’s opinion reads like a chilly name of a regulation pupil who spent the semester taking part in Fortnite as a substitute of doing the studying. He all however accuses the investigative crew of fumbling their approach right into a constitutional ditch:
“The document factors to a disturbing sample of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to doubtlessly undermine the integrity of the grand jury continuing.”
That’s spectacularly harsh judicial language. When a choose says your work “undermined the integrity” of the grand jury, that’s not a critique — that’s a analysis.
And the remedy? Full disclosure of all of the grand jury supplies.
Lest anybody miss the severity, Fitzpatrick says the quiet half loud:
“The courtroom acknowledges that is a unprecedented treatment, however given the factually primarily based challenges the protection has raised to the federal government’s conduct and the prospect that authorities misconduct might have tainted the grand jury proceedings, disclosure of grand jury supplies underneath these distinctive circumstances is important to totally shield the rights of the accused.”
Judges don’t casually throw round phrases like “tainted the grand jury.” That Fitzpatrick is utilizing the time period in any respect ought to make DOJ attorneys wish to crawl underneath the desk and rethink their profession selections. As a result of “extraordinary treatment”? That’s judge-speak for “you left me no selection.”
Learn the complete benchslap — the second in the case, it should be noted — under.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Regulation, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the most effective, so please join along with her. Be at liberty to e-mail her with any ideas, questions, or feedback and observe her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
