Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick wrote there was ‘a reasonable basis’ to question whether ‘government misconduct’ occurred.
A magistrate judge in the United States has issued a stern rebuke to the administration of President Donald Trump, criticising its handling of the indictment against a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey.
On Monday, Judge William Fitzpatrick of Alexandria, Virginia, made the unusual decision to order the release of all grand jury materials related to the indictment.
Normally, grand jury materials are kept secret to protect witnesses, defendants and jurors in cases of grave federal crimes.
But in Comey’s case, Fitzpatrick ruled there was “a reasonable basis to question whether the government’s conduct was willful or in reckless disregard of the law”, and that greater transparency was therefore required.
He cited several irregularities in the case, ranging from how evidence was obtained to alleged misstatements from prosecutors that could have swayed the grand jury.
“The procedural and substantive irregularities that occurred before the grand jury, and the manner in which evidence
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