A federal judge says the Justice Department engaged in a "disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps" when it secured an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said Monday those problems include "fundamental misstatements of the law" by a prosecutor to a grand jury that indicted Comey in September, the use of potentially privileged communications in the investigation and unexplained irregularities in the transcript of the grand jury proceedings. Fitzpatrick ordered the Justice Department to provide Comey's lawyers with all grand jury materials. The indictment charges Comey with lying to Congress in September 2020 when he suggested under questioning that he had not authorized FBI leaks of information to the news media.

Lawyers for two of President Donald Trump's foes who've been charged by the Justice Department have asked a federal judge to dismiss the cases against them, saying the prosecutor who secured the indictments was illegally installed. U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie says she expects to decide by Thanksgiving on challenges to Lindsey Halligan's appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Currie also disclosed Thursday a record of grand jury proceedings in ex-FBI Director James Comey's case was missing a portion. Comey denies charges of making a false statement and obstructing Congress. New York Attorney General Letitia James also was charged by Halligan and denies mortgage fraud allegations.