'You could hear a pin drop': Reporter describes 'stunned silence' in court over DOJ error
President Donald Trump's hand-picked federal prosecutor admitted to a major mistake in her case against James Comey, and a reporter described the stunned reaction to her testimony inside the courtroom.
U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff grilled interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan on the grand jury indictment charging Comey with lying to and obstructing Congress, and the federal prosecutor admitted under oath that only two grand jurors were present when she presented the full indictment – which MS NOW reporter Fallon Gallagher set in motion a chain reaction.
"We could hear about what happens with Lindsay Halligan's fate and then subsequently what will happen with the investigation," Gallagher said. "But that's all to say that Judge Nachmanoff inside this hearing today could rule on these grand jury proceedings soon. He didn't set a specific timeline on when he wants that briefing on that 1969 case that I referenced, but he seemed extremely stunned."
"I would say the room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop when we learned about what actually happened in that grand jury room" she added. "I would expect this to continue to move forward. This is a case that has historically, this is a court that has historically moved very quickly, but we still have another set of motions, hearings on motions to dismiss set for, I believe, Dec. 9. So these will all chug along. I don't want to predict exactly when we'll know, but I would imagine in the next few weeks."
Comey's attorneys had asked the court to dismiss the case as "selective and vindictive," but Halligan's admission could give them even stronger evidence to justify getting the case dismissed with prejudice.
"That's a keydistinction that they're makingin all of their arguments," Gallagher said. "Ifyou dismiss a case withprejudice, you can't bring itback. In this case, the statuteof limitations has alreadyexpired now. So if they were todismiss the case with prejudice,there's no loophole that thegovernment could use to try tobring these charges against James Comey again."
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