Judge Wants to Review Investigation Tactics in Bannon Case

[Zorro]

A District Court judge ordered the government to turn over certain phone records that investigators captured in their efforts to investigate Steve Bannon and his lawyer.

Federal prosecutors going after Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress revealed on Wednesday that they sought no approval from higher-ranking Justice Department officials before they took the unusual move to spy on his lawyer—in addition to erroneously targeting a number of other Americans with similar names.

That action seemed to disturb U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who repeatedly asked prosecutors why they thought it proper—or even relevant—to secretly gather a log of defense attorney Robert Costello’s private phone calls, text messages, and emails.

“What’s unique here is that the government didn’t just go get regular records,” Nichols said. “Why is that an appropriate first move?”

The judge ruled Wednesday that the government must turn over the phone records requests and the phone records themselves for his private review. That includes information the Justice Department received from Comcast, Google, and Yahoo.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-wants-to-review-investigation-tactics-in-steve-bannon-case

This sounds unsettling.

[Thomas Hurt]

1. This just goes beyond incompetence and stupidity to purposeful sabotage their own case...

and letting the lush walk.

[ms liberty]

4. This. n/t

[rockfordfile]

2. Who appointed the judge?

[FBaggins]

3. Trump

But the prosecutors’ behavior is odd.