A federal judge on Friday put off a decision on whether to dismiss a placeholder criminal case filed against former FBI Director James Comey, giving the Justice Department an opportunity to pursue an indictment over allegations of a decade-old news media leak.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden acknowledged, though, that despite the Justice Department's hopes, an indictment was no sure thing in a nation's capital where grand juries have repeatedly rejected prosecutors' requests for charges in politically delicate cases.

And he said that in the meantime, he would be "extremely frustrated if there's some sort of dawn raid" to arrest Comey before he can be indicted, a concern defense attorneys raised.