A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Justice Department’s criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding that the acting U.S. attorney who secured the indictments was unlawfully appointed.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was defective. Currie said “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment,” including the indictments against Comey and James, “were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.” Currie was nominated to the bench by former President Bill Clinton.
The cases were dismissed without prejudice, leaving the Justice Department the option to seek to bring charges again. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration disagrees with the ruling and called Halligan “extremely qualified,” adding that the department will appeal. Leavitt also asserted on Fox News that Comey lied to Congress and criticized the judge’s action as shielding Comey and James from accountability.
Halligan, a former insurance lawyer who once served as President Trump’s personal lawyer and later as a White House aide, was sworn in as acting U.S. attorney on Sept. 22 after Trump removed the previous top prosecutor, who had expressed doubts about bringing charges in both matters. Halligan had no prior prosecutorial experience.
Three days after being sworn in, Halligan secured a two-count indictment against Comey—just days before the statute of limitations expired. Comey has pleaded not guilty. In a social media video, he said he was grateful the court ended what he called “a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence” and said the decision sends a message that a president cannot use the Justice Department to target political enemies. His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the decision recognizes the case was brought by “someone who had no authority whatsoever to be the United States Attorney,” and indicated the statute of limitations has run so no further indictment is possible.
Two weeks after the Comey indictment, Halligan obtained an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James on charges of bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution; James has pleaded not guilty. James said she remains fearless and will continue fighting for New Yorkers. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said they would fight any further charges and accused the president of substituting an ally to bring baseless charges after career prosecutors refused, calling the matters politically motivated.
The government has said that in both cases Halligan was the only prosecutor to present before the grand jury. Days before Halligan’s swearing-in, President Trump publicly urged the Justice Department to prosecute Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff. Schiff is not charged, though federal prosecutors are investigating him on separate mortgage fraud allegations.
—NPR’s Carrie Johnson contributed to this report.
