Summary of the judge's decision:
Fitzpatrick also said Halligan, who had never prosecuted a case prior to Comey’s, appeared to make two “fundamental misstatements of law” to the grand jury that could jeopardize the indictment altogether.
He said Halligan, facing tough questions from grand jurors, appeared to suggest Comey might have to testify at trial to explain his innocence, an improper characterization of the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Fitzpatrick also said Halligan appeared to improperly suggest grand jurors could assume the government had more evidence against Comey than what it presented to them.
“The record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding,” he wrote.