Criminal cases against Comey, James dismissed as federal judge rules prosecutor was unlawfully appointed News
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Criminal cases against Comey, James dismissed as federal judge rules prosecutor was unlawfully appointed

A federal judge on Monday dismissed criminal indictments against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who secured the charges was appointed unlawfully.

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia found that Attorney General Pam Bondi exceeded her authority when she appointed Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide with no prosecutorial experience, as interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September.

Under federal law, the attorney general may appoint an interim US attorney for only 120 days. After that, appointment authority shifts exclusively to the district court. Because that 120-day window had expired in May, McGowan Currie ruled, Halligan’s appointment violated both 28 USC § 546—Vacancies and the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

McGowan Currie wrote in both opinions:

All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing [both indictments] constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside.

Halligan was the sole prosecutor who presented these cases to grand juries. Comey faced charges of lying to Congress; James was accused of bank fraud related to a Virginia mortgage application.

The cases drew accusations of political prosecution.

Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017 while the bureau was investigating Russian election interference. Comey then arranged for memos documenting his private conversations with Trump to reach the press, prompting Robert Mueller’s appointment as special counsel. The charges against Comey relate to his Senate testimony about authorizing others to serve as anonymous media sources.

James, a Democrat, sued Trump and the Trump Organization in 2022 for inflating property values on financial statements to secure favorable loan terms, allegations that mirror, on a larger scale, those now leveled against her. A New York judge found Trump liable and ordered more than $450 million in penalties. Trump repeatedly called James a “wacky crook” and urged her prosecution.

Halligan’s appointment came days after Trump publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue charges against his perceived enemies. In a Sept. 20 Truth Social post, Trump declared Comey, James and Senator Adam Schiff “guilty as hell,” and wrote “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” He said he had fired the previous interim US attorney, Erik Siebert, who had reportedly expressed doubts about the cases, and praised Halligan as “a really good lawyer.”

Last week, one federal judge cited “profound investigative missteps” in Comey’s case, and another compelled Halligan and her team to admit various missteps in grand jury proceedings.

The dismissals are without prejudice, but the statute of limitations on Comey’s charges has expired, likely barring re-prosecution.

 

 

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