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A federal judge in Virginia on Monday ordered prosecutors to turn over grand jury materials in the criminal case against James Comey after finding the government's handling of the case raises "genuine issues of misconduct" that could result in the charges against the former FBI director being dismissed.

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Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said in his ruling that the type of relief Comey's lawyers are seeking is "rarely granted," but that "the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding." The ruling directs the government to turn over the material to Comey's team by the end of the day.

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Among the missteps the judge said he found while reviewing the grand jury proceedings in the case were statements made to the panel by acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump who had no prior prosecutorial experience.

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Fitzpatrick said the court "identified two statements by the prosecutor to the grand jurors that on their face appear to be fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process," he wrote.

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The judge further questioned Halligan's claim that the government had already shared all the grand jury information available, pointing to what appeared to be gaps in the transcript.

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