A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Trump administration’s criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after ruling that the prosecutor who brought the cases was wrongfully appointed to her position by the Department of Justice.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie’s rulings in the two cases will stop the prosecutions against the officials for the time being, though the order does not touch the subject matter of their individual indictments.
Both Comey and James asked the judge to dismiss their cases with prejudice, meaning that the DOJ wouldn’t be able to bring the cases forward again. The judge did not dismiss the cases with prejudice, but it’s not currently known how or if the DOJ will continue the prosecutions, The Associated Press noted.
In their cases, Comey and James contended that Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor who brought the cases against them, was illegally appointed to her position.
Halligan, a U.S. attorney in Virginia, was President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney. She was tapped to serve in Virginia’s Eastern District and was sworn in by Attorney General Pam Bondi in September. Just days later, Comey was indicted.
Monday’s ruling from the judge hinges on the administration’s appointment of Halligan, who had no previous prosecutorial experience.
Lawyers argue that the Trump administration was not able to appoint Halligan. She replaced Erik Siebert, who resigned in September after the administration began applying pressure for Comey and James to be indicted. Once Siebert resigned, the judges of the federal district court should have had say over who filled his vacancy, not the DOJ, the lawyers argued.
The judge’s order Monday agreed, noting Halligan’s appointment as “invalid” and that she’s been “unlawfully” serving in the position since Bondi swore her in. Whoever will fill the position is now in the hands of the district court.
Comey, who has long been a target of Trump’s, was under investigation and was indicted in September, shortly before the statute of limitations on his alleged charges were set to expire. The former FBI director was being investigated over whether he made false statements during congressional testimony in September 2020 about his investigation into Russian tampering in the 2016 presidential election.
Comey was appointed by former President Barack Obama to lead the FBI in 2013 and fired by Trump in May 2017.
Comey has maintained his innocence over the years, arguing that he did not lie under oath. He continued his pledge after the indictment and his team was planning to look at alleged irregularities in the grand jury process.
In a video message posted online, Comey said he was grateful that the court ended the case against him, claiming the prosecution was based on “malevolence and incompetence.”
“This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the President of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies,” Comey said. “I don’t care what your politics are, you have to see that as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free.”
Letitia James was charged with bank fraud
New York’s attorney general was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts involving bank fraud and false financial statements over a property she owns in Virginia.
Prosecutors argued James misrepresented how she utilizes the property in order to obtain a more favorable loan, including using it as a second residence when James said she leases it to tenants.
Like Comey, James has denied any wrongdoing and said she would continue to fight the case.
Last year, James led a New York civil fraud case against Trump, which the the president said was politically motivated.
The case left the then-presidential candidate with a multimillion-dollar penalty and found he committed fraud and could not participate in business in the state for several years. An appeals court later overturned the $500 million penalty but other sanctions are still in place.
In a statement Monday, James said she was “heartened by today’s victory” and grateful for those who have supported her over the last month since being indicted.
“I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue to fight for New Yorkers every single day,” she wrote.
The Deseret News has reached out to the DOJ for comment, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday afternoon that she knows the department will be appealing the judge’s order.
“We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsey Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position, but she was, in fact, legally appointed and I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order, so maybe James Comey should pump the brakes on his victory lap,” Leavitt said.