A federal judge has thrown out the criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the cases, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie found that Halligan’s appointment violated federal law, declaring that “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment … constitute unlawful exercises of executive power.”
The judge dismissed the indictments without prejudice, meaning the Department of Justice could refile the cases in the future — though it’s unclear whether that will happen in Comey’s case, as his lawyers noted the statute of limitations may already have expired.
Halligan had been appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia by Attorney General Pam Bondi, but Judge Currie ruled the appointment was invalid because it exceeded the 120-day limit allowed for interim prosecutors without Senate confirmation or judicial approval.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in political fallout may follow, as both Comey and James were high-profile figures in President Trump’s efforts to wield his Justice Department against his perceived political adversaries.
In a statement following the ruling, James said she felt “heartened by today’s victory” and reaffirmed her commitment to serving the people of New York.
