The magistrate judge in the perjury case against FBI Director James Comey wrote a scathing order Monday about a litany of mistakes made by prosecutor Lindsey Halligan that may have put the case in jeopardy.

Halligan is a real estate attorney who was appointed by Trump after the top federal prosecutor in Virginia’s eastern district, Erik Siebert, resisted pressure to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James.

A federal grand jury indicted Comey in September after President Trump encouraged Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue his enemies. Comey has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In Monday’s order, magistrate judge William Fitzpatrick ordered prosecutors to immediately turn over records of secret grand jury proceedings to Comey’s defense.

“In so finding, the Court recognizes this is an extraordinary remedy, but given the factually based challenges the defense has raised to the government’s conduct and the prospect that government misconduct may have tainted the grand jury proceedings, disclosure of grand jury materials under these unique circumstances is necessary to fully protect the rights of the accused,” Fitzpatrick wrote in his 24-page opinion after he personally reviewed the grand jury transcripts.

Fitzpatrick wrote that the prosecution made two problematic statements to the grand jurors “that on their face seem to appear to be fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process.”

One particular statement “is a fundamental and highly prejudicial misstatement of the law that suggests to the grand jury that Mr. Comey does not have a Fifth Amendment right not to testify at trial,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “The prosecutor’s statement ignores the foundational rule of law that that if Mr. Comey exercised his right not to testify the jury could draw no negative inference from that decision.”

In addition, Fitzpatrick outlined other procedural mistakes Halligan made that could lead to dismissal before the case goes to trial.

The DOJ has until 5 p.m. Monday to turn over audio recordings of the grand jury proceedings to defense counsel, CBS News reported.

Read the magistrate judge’s opinion here.

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