Judge delays ruling in Comey case to allow DOJ to seek grand jury indictment

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden paused a ruling on a criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey on Friday. The decision gives the Justice Department a window to seek a grand jury indictment regarding an alleged decade-old leak to the news media.

Comey's legal team asked the court to dismiss the case immediately. They argued that the Justice Department missed the ten-year statute of limitations for prosecuting the matter. Their lawyers called the current charging document, a waiverless information, legally invalid because Comey did not waive his right to a grand jury trial.

The Justice Department filed the waiverless information to keep the case alive while it pursues a formal indictment. Prosecutor Dustin Farahnak told the court that it was premature to rule while the grand jury investigation continued. He indicated that evidence presented to the grand jury might date from after October 2016, which would place it within the legal time limit.

Defense attorney Ephraim McDowell argued that leaving the case pending was unfair because the statute of limitations had already expired. He stated that Comey would be stuck in legal limbo despite the time limit running out. McFadden acknowledged the frustration but noted that grand juries in Washington often reject prosecutors' requests in sensitive cases.

McFadden expressed concern that prosecutors might arrest Comey before an indictment is secured. He said he would be extremely frustrated by such a move. Farahnak responded that a dawn raid to arrest Comey before an indictment was not going to happen.

The case stems from a New York Times story published in October 2016. The article discussed a secret court order requiring Yahoo to scan emails for messages linked to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors claim Comey directed staff to speak to a journalist to correct misinformation, thereby illegally transferring classified information.

This is the third criminal case against Comey. A previous case in Virginia alleging false statements to Congress was dismissed due to the prosecutor's illegal appointment. A separate pending indictment accuses him of threatening President Donald Trump through an Instagram post of seashells arranged in the numbers 86 and 47. Comey stated in a video that he remains innocent and believes in the independent federal judiciary.