A federal judge has dismissed criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the charges at the request of President Donald Trump was unlawfully appointed.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie found that Lindsey Halligan \u2014 a former White House aide installed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia \u2014 was appointed in violation of federal law, rendering all actions stemming from her role invalid. The decision halts two politically explosive cases targeting two of Trump\u2019s most prominent adversaries.<\/p>\n
In her written ruling, Currie said \u201call actions flowing from Ms. Halligan\u2019s defective appointment\u2026 are hereby set aside,\u201d including the indictments she secured shortly after taking office.<\/p>\n
The White House criticized the decision, saying it would \u201cnot be the final word,\u201d while Attorney General Pam Bondi announced an immediate appeal. Prosecutors may still attempt to refile the charges, though the judge dismissed the cases without prejudice.<\/p>\n
Defense teams for both Comey and James had long argued that the prosecutions reflected \u201coutrageous government conduct,\u201d pointing to what they described as a politically driven effort to weaponize the Justice Department. They also challenged Halligan\u2019s legitimacy, arguing that her appointment exceeded the 120-day authority granted to attorneys general and bypassed the requirement that judges fill such vacancies after that period.<\/p>\n
Comey, who had been charged with making false statements and obstructing Congress, welcomed the ruling, calling the case \u201ca prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence.\u201d Letitia James, facing mortgage fraud allegations, said she remained \u201cfearless in the face of these baseless charges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Currie rejected a Justice Department attempt to retroactively validate Halligan\u2019s work by naming her a \u201cSpecial Attorney,\u201d writing that such a maneuver would effectively allow any private citizen to enter a grand jury room and obtain indictments \u201cso long as the Attorney General gives her approval after the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dismissal comes as several other interim U.S. attorney appointments across the country face legal challenges, though Currie\u2019s ruling goes further by voiding the indictments entirely due to Halligan\u2019s sole involvement in presenting evidence.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department now faces a narrow window to refile at least one of the cases. Comey was indicted just days before the statute of limitations expired, raising further questions about whether prosecutors can revive the charges.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A federal judge has dismissed criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the charges at the request of President Donald Trump was unlawfully appointed. U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie found that Lindsey Halligan \u2014 a former White House aide installed<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,54,239],"tags":[2266,2262,2282,243,2283,1087],"class_list":{"0":"post-14570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-news","8":"category-social","9":"category-usa-canada","10":"tag-courts","11":"tag-justice-department","12":"tag-legal-affairs","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-trump-era","15":"tag-united-states"},"yoast_head":"\n