A federal judge in Washington aired broad concerns Thursday about diminishing confidence in government institutions as he grappled with secrecy surrounding the firing and criminal investigation of Andrew McCabe, a former FBI leader who was terminated in 2018 following an internal inquiry into his contacts with the news media.

During an hourlong hearing, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton weighed releasing transcripts of three closed-door discussions he had with Justice Department lawyers last year in a Freedom of Information Act case seeking records related to McCabe's termination. In those private discussions, held between July and September, Justice Department lawyers argued that records concerning McCabe's firing should be withheld because they related to an ongoing law enforcement proceeding.

The Justice Department backed off that argument in November, prompting Walton to question whether he had been "manipulated" for months into stalling public release of public records.

Walton, speaking in court Thursday, described the public interest in McCabe's firing as "significant" and "tremendous," while also raising concerns that keeping the public "in the dark" about the termination of a top FBI official risked undermining the bureau.

"I'm becoming really concerned about the American public having faith in our institutions," Walton said.

"I don't want to see the court dragged down into that concern," he added, voicing worries that the court could be seen as "complicit" in the government's drive to keep certain documents under wraps.

Walton's remarks came in a case filed by the watchdog group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, which sued in July 2018 for records related to McCabe's firing.

The case has played out against the backdrop of a criminal investigation into whether McCabe misled federal agents about his role in providing a Wall Street Journal reporter with information in 2016 about the FBI's probe into the Clinton Foundation.

Last year, a grand jury convened to consider the case against McCabe without issuing an indictment, but the Justice Department has given no public indication that it has abandoned the investigation. McCabe, represented by lawyers from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, in August sued the Justice Department alleging retaliation. The government is opposing his claims.

Anne Weismann of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi / ALM

On Thursday, Anne Weismann, a lawyer for CREW, said the threat of criminal prosecution "continues to hang over Mr. McCabe's head."

As he has presided over the public records case, Walton has voiced frustration with the Justice Department's drawn-out criminal investigation into McCabe, saying the probe has left the former deputy FBI director in "limbo." On Thursday, he said there was "a lot of suspicion among the American people about what the heck the government is doing."

Walton and Justice Department lawyer Justin Sandberg avoided giving any clear indication of the status of the investigation into McCabe. Walton said the private discussions with the Justice Department last year did not provide him with information about why the McCabe investigation is in the "state that it's in at this current time."

Sandberg argued for only a limited release of the transcripts, saying the information divulged in them should be strictly relevant to the open records lawsuit and not address how the Justice Department is "handling an enforcement proceeding." It is not the court's role in the case, he said, to "pass judgment" on the operation of the Justice Department.

"That's not what's at issue in this case," Sandberg said.

Walton said he would review the transcripts to evaluate what should be redacted. Before adjourning, he reiterated that the court needed to be viewed as a "neutral arbiter."

"I have real concerns," he said, "because if the American public loses faith in the judicial process, we're in trouble."