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 was not lawfully appointed.
“I agree with Mr. Comey that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid. And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment,” U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie wrote, finding that the appointment of former Donald Trump personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan was improper and that she lacked authority to present a case to a grand jury.
Currie issued a separate order dismissing the indictment against James.
Because Halligan — who was named interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia at Trump’s direction — was the only prosecutor to present the cases and the only one to sign the indictments, the judge concluded that the charges had to be voided.
The decision could have far-reaching implications for other prosecutions brought by Halligan’s office during her tenure. A similar ruling that disqualified Alina Habba as the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey has already left a number of criminal cases in limbo while she appeals that decision.
At a rare joint hearing on Nov. 13 with lawyers for both Comey and James, Currie appeared skeptical of the Justice Department’s position. A prosecutor tried to downplay questions about Halligan’s appointment as “a paperwork error.”
Comey’s attorney pushed back, calling it far more serious — a “fatal flaw” in the government’s case.
Comey had been charged with making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation. James faced charges of bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. Both had pleaded not guilty.
In a highly unusual arrangement, Halligan was the sole prosecutor to present both cases to the grand jury and the sole signatory on the indictments. Other prosecutors in her office had advised against charging Comey and James because they did not believe there was sufficient evidence to secure convictions, NBC News previously reported.
Trump announced he was appointing Halligan as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia on Sept. 20 — one day after forcing out his initial pick, Erik Siebert, who had resisted pressure to prosecute Comey and James.
Halligan’s appointment drew immediate concern because, under federal law, an interim U.S. attorney may serve only 120 days unless confirmed by the Senate. The Senate had never confirmed Siebert, so judges in the Eastern District of Virginia used their own appointment authority to keep him in place past that 120-day limit.
Attorneys for Comey and James argued that once Siebert was removed, the authority to name his successor belonged to those judges, not Attorney General Pam Bondi. Otherwise, Comey’s attorney wrote in a filing, the 120-day limit would become “meaningless, and the Attorney General could indefinitely evade the alternate procedures that Congress mandated.”
The Justice Department countered that Halligan’s appointment was valid because the office was vacant after Siebert’s departure. Since the “Senate has not refused advice and consent to Ms. Halligan — her nomination remains pending,” the department argued, “The Attorney General therefore lawfully appointed Ms. Halligan as interim U.S. Attorney” and “the motions to dismiss should be denied.”
Trump’s Truth Social post naming Halligan to the post came the day after Siebert was forced out — and shortly after another social media post in which he publicly urged Bondi to move forward with prosecutions of Comey, James and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, a frequent critic.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,’” said the post, which a source previously confirmed to NBC News had been intended as a direct message to Bondi, not a public post.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump continued, while praising Halligan as “a really good lawyer.”
Five days later, Halligan — who had no prior prosecutorial experience — presented the Comey case to a grand jury, just days before a five-year statute of limitations on the charges was set to expire.
Currie, a Bill Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was assigned to hear the dispute over Halligan’s appointment instead of a judge from the Eastern District of Virginia, since those local judges could be involved in selecting her replacement.
Comey and James also have separate motions pending before the judges overseeing their cases, arguing that the charges are the product of “selective and vindictive” prosecution.
The Trump administration’s interpretation of the 120-day rule has already led to the disqualification of U.S. attorneys in California and Nevada as well. The Justice Department is appealing those rulings.
