PAMELA BROWN: Breaking information into NCS relating to former FBI Director James Comey in his battle to get his federal prices dismissed. Crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz is correct exterior the federal courthouse. Katelyn, what occurred in court docket?
KATELYN POLANTZ: Well, a startling dialogue. Less than one minute of time handed with no silence in this courtroom, because the choose was in a position to ask the query and obtained the Justice Department to confess the ultimate indictment that James Comey now faces, the previous FBI director, it was by no means proven to the total grand jury in this courthouse, and they didn’t approve it in full.
They had voted down indicting Comey, as a result of that they had been requested to approve three totally different prices in opposition to him. That indictment was a no from the grand jury, after which there was no additional dialogue with the prosecutors to convey in regards to the indictment Comey now faces.
I need to lay this out a bit of bit extra, as a result of I’m positive there can be many authorized analysts to speak about this. The choose didn’t make any remaining determinations in regards to the case. And there can be extra arguments about this.
But what occurred in court docket was that Judge Nachmanoff, after there have been many arguments about Donald Trump directing the Justice Department, whether or not he had, whether or not Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor right here, had acted on her personal accord to determine to convey this indictment in opposition to Comey, Judge Nachmanoff, he started asking the prosecutor to clarify why the paperwork in this case look the best way that is, why there was lacking time in the grand jury transcript.
And issues obtained very intense in a short time. They placed on the husher. Both protection crew and the prosecution crew began whispering to one another very vigorously. And then the choose requested the query: “The operative indictment in this case, that document was never shown to the entire grand jury?”
That is when Tyler Lemons, the prosecutor, standing subsequent to Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. legal professional who was additionally seated at a council desk, says: “Standing in front of you right now, no.”
There was silence in the courtroom. Judge Nachmanoff sat again in his chair. He regarded down. He flipped pages that have been in entrance of them after which he requested once more and stopped Tyler Lemons from answering, known as Lindsey Halligan as much as the rostrum. And she additionally confirmed: “No, Your Honor,” that the foreperson in open court docket was the one who had signed the ultimate indictment in opposition to Comey.
This was the very finish of the arguments, the total set of arguments. This was like a further factor the choose wished to speak about. And so proper after this, the protection counsel for James Comey, Michael Dreeben, and he stood up and he mentioned: “It appears the operative indictment in this case was never shown to the grand jury and was never returned.”
That is the conclusion that they need to draw, at the very least on the protection. He’s attempting to argue to the choose that that is an invalid case and ought to be outright dismissed. There’s going to be extra arguments in writing over this by in the present day at 5:00. That was what the choose started to arrange.
But we’re going to see how this performs out, as a result of this can be a bit of recent info that was very surprising in the present day and actually adjustments the complete tenor of our understanding of this case and the battle that James Comey’s crew can convey to it as they attempt to get it tossed out of this federal courthouse.
BROWN: I imply, this can be a huge revelation, Katelyn. I’ve — have you ever ever heard of this occurring earlier than? I do know we’ve got coated DOJ, grand juries for a lot of, a few years. I’ve by no means heard of a full grand jury not seeing a full indictment.
POLANTZ: No, however I’ll say, Pam, the choose did inform each events they wanted to lookup a specific case in a special district as a result of one thing in that case regulation could make clear how they need to interpret this new info.
But this was a second in court docket — I’ve been in loads of these hearings in politically charged instances through the years. This was gobsmacking. It was absolute silence. I’ve mentioned earlier than in this case that there have been moments the place individuals gasped, however this was — you might see the complete room shift.
And from then on, this was the one factor that was — that was mattering in that case. This is the one factor that the choose and that others have been speaking about as they wrapped it up in direction of the tip. I imply, one of many issues too that was very stunning about that is how a lot this argument went again to Lindsey Halligan.
We have by no means seen her communicate on the podium earlier than. And there was dialogue. At one level, the choose even requested, is she a puppet? Is she a stalking horse of Donald Trump simply despatched in to convey this case? And the prosecutors saved saying, no, she was making choices on her personal.
She was even nodding very vigorously about that sitting on the prosecution desk. But then, when she stood as much as tackle the choose and confirmed what he then had on the report, that the total grand jury didn’t return this indictment, she was — she gave the impression to be in fairly an sad temper. She was very brief with him.