A federal judge on Monday (local time) dismissed the indictments against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James. The decision came after the court ruled that president Donald Trump’s appointment of interim US attorney Lindsey Halligan in Virginia was invalid.Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, in her order, wrote that the attorney general’s attempt to install Halligan as the interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia “was invalid,” and that all actions taken under her “defective appointment”, including the indictments, were unlawful.Letitia James welcomed the decision, saying, “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” she said. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”Comey responded in an Instagram video, saying, “I’m grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the department of justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking.” The White House said the justice department will appeal the ruling. Attorney general Pam Bondi repeated this at a press conference, saying the government would take “all available legal action” to hold Comey and James accountable.
Currie explained that only judges of the eastern district of Virginia can appoint a temporary US attorney until the Senate confirms a nominee. Halligan, a former White House adviser, had taken over after the Trump administration pushed out her predecessor. Defence lawyers argued that the 120-day limit for interim appointments had already expired when she stepped in, making her appointment unlawful. Currie agreed, saying the government cannot bypass Senate confirmation by repeatedly installing short-term appointees.The judge also noted that accepting the government’s argument would allow officials to send “any private citizen off the street” to lead a grand jury, as long as the attorney general approved it later, something she said “cannot be the law.”Comey had been accused of passing information to reporters through his lawyer in 2017 and of giving false statements to Congress. James faced charges of making false statements to a financial institution and bank fraud, which she also denied. Trump has repeatedly demanded prosecutions of Comey, James, and other critics. In one Truth Social post, he wrote that they were “guilty as hell,” though the justice department argued these posts were opinions, not directives.
