Justice Dept Says Comey Indictment Was Proper

The Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney handling the case abruptly reversed her decision and insisted Thursday that the panel had properly approved the charges because she was trying to prevent the consequences of earlier statements that could have jeopardized the prosecution.

New statements by Lindsay Halligan, the hastily appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, appear to be an attempt to backtrack on earlier comments about the messy process of withdrawing the two-count indictment under persistent questioning from the judge.

The new court filing, along with a transcript of the September evening when the indictment was withdrawn, aims to dispel public concerns that the grand jury presentation was botched and could jeopardize the case. Either way, these contradictory statements demonstrate the irregular nature of the prosecution of a political opponent of President Donald Trump and highlight the consequences of the Justice Department's decision to assign such a significant case to a lawyer with no previous experience as a prosecutor and appointed just days before the indictment. Halligan replaced a former prosecutor who resigned amid pressure from the Trump administration to indict Comey and another Trump opponent, New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom Halligan also indicted.

The case stems from the Justice Department initially seeking charges against Comey on three counts. A grand jury dismissed one charge but approved two others, accusing Comey of making false statements and obstructing Congress. "Let me be clear, the second charge, the operative charge in this case that Mr. Comey is facing, is a document that was never shown to the full grand jury or presented in the grand jury room; is that correct?" U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff asked at one point.

"Standing before you, Your Honor, yes, that is my understanding," Tyler Lemons, a prosecutor in the case, responded. "I wasn't there, but that is my understanding, yes, Your Honor."

Halligan, who had been called to the lectern, told Nachmanoff in court on Wednesday that only the grand jury foreperson and one other grand jury member were present for the second indictment. In a court filing later that evening, the Justice Department said the grand jury coordinator had returned to the grand jury room and presented the corrected indictment to the grand jury foreperson and deputy foreperson.

On Thursday, in a five-page court filing titled "Notice to Correct the Government's Record," Halligan attempted to downplay any problems with the presentation, calling the situation "clerical inconsistency" and insisting that the full grand jury never voted on the second indictment.

The filing also included a transcript of a conversation between Halligan, the grand jury foreperson, and the magistrate judge who oversaw the return of the indictment.

According to the transcript, the judge at one point asked, "So you voted on the one that has two counts?"

The foreperson replied, "Yes."