DOJ appeals order forcing release of grand jury materials in Comey case

The Justice Department moved Thursday to block a federal magistrate judge’s order requiring prosecutors to immediately turn over grand jury materials in the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick stunned prosecutors Wednesday when he made the rare decision to order them to provide the materials to Comey’s defense team by the end of Thursday, expressing concern that the Department of Justice may have “indicted first and investigated later.”