Federal judge condemns Justice Department’s ‘charge first, investigate later’ approach

A federal judge criticized the Justice Department on Wednesday for allegedly being too quick to indict people in high-profile cases.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick of the Eastern District of Virginia made the comments during a brief hearing in the case against former FBI Director James Comey.

“Right now, we have a bit of a sense of indictment first, investigation later,” Fitzpatrick said during the hearing, which lasted less than an hour.

Fitzpatrick questioned prosecutors about their handling of data acquired during a number of search warrants between 2019 and 2020, information that is now being used in Comey’s case. The judge asked prosecutors if they were able to see information that might be protected by attorney-client privilege.

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Fitzpatrick also highlighted the scale of the trove of documents, saying Comey’s defense team was at a disadvantage with limited time to view the entire thing.

“The government has been put through this for five and a half years… it’s an unfair burden that the government is putting on the defense, but I don’t see any other way forward,” the judge said.

Comey’s team asked that his case be dismissed, arguing that he was the victim of selective prosecution by President Donald Trump.

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James Comey, former FBI director, is drawn in a courtroom sketch during his arraignment October 8, 2025 in Virginia. (Federal Court, designer Dana Verkouteren)

The DOJ denied in a 48-page filing that Trump’s September Truth Social message calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute high-profile political adversaries, including Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, had any influence on the decision to file charges.

“These messages reflect the President’s view that the defendant committed crimes that should be prosecuted. They may even suggest that the President disadvantages the defendant. But they do not constitute direct evidence of a vindictive motive,” prosecutors argued.

Comey’s lawyers say Trump influenced the DOJ’s decision to prosecute him. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

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“The defendant tells a story that requires leaps of logic and a large dose of cynicism, then he calls the office of president a direct admission,” they continued. “There is no direct admission of discriminatory purpose. Rather, the only direct admission from the President is that it was DOJ officials who decided whether to prosecute, not him.”

Ashley Carnahan of Fox News contributed to this report.