1 of 3 | A demonstrator holds a sign outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Bryan Courthouse during the arraignment of former FBI Director James Comey in Alexandria, Virginia on October 8. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
A federal judge on Monday threw out criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding the appointment of interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in Alexandria, Va., was “invalid.”
In a 29-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie from South Carolina ordered the indictments to be dismissed without prejudice. That means prosecutors could to seek charges again. The Department of Justice also can appeal to a higher court or not pursue the charges.
Defense attorneys in both cases argued the 120-day period that an interim U.S. attorney is allowed to serve prior to confirmation from the Senate or approval from the district’s judges had already expired when President Donald Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint Halligan to serve as U.S. attorney.
Halligan, who had no previous trial experience, was appointed to replace Erik Siebert, who abruptly left the post in September amid concerns he would be forced out for failing to prosecute James. Siebert, himself, was picked to be the interim U.S. attorney in January, meaning the position had already been filled for the legal limit of 120 days for in the interim.
“The attorney general’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid,” Currie wrote in her Monday order.
“All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.”
Prosecutors who work under Halligan argued Bondi has full authority to appoint someone to position as long as they are qualified. The 12-day period serves as a sort of check-in system.
The judge disagreed.
“The implications of a contrary conclusion are extraordinary,” Currie wrote. “It would mean the government could send any private citizen off the street — attorney or not — into the grand jury room to secure an indictment so long as the attorney general gives her approval after the fact. That cannot be the law.”
Bondi also named her a special attorney, applied retroactively, and ratified her work before the grand jury and signature on the indictment.
Within days of Halligan’s appointment as U.S. attorney, she personally presented the two cases to grand juries. The five-year statute of limitations in Comey’s case would have expired soon after Halligan’s appointment had the grand jury not indicted him.
On Sept. 25, Comey was indicted for making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. In Alexandria, Va., U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, overseeing this case, set a trial date for Jan. 5. He was nominated by President Joe Biden.
On Oct. 9, a grand jury in Norfolk, Va., indicted James on mortgage fraud involving a home loan. U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker, also appointed by Biden, set a trial date for Jan. 26.
Comey and James, who pleaded not guilty to their respective charges, have been in Trump’s crosshairs because of legal action against him.
“I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” James said in a statement in response to the ruling. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
Currie is a senior district judge representing the district of South Carolina. She was chosen to determine the legality of Halligan’s appointment because of a potential conflict of interest for the judges in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the case was filed. Currie was appointed by President Barack Obama.
Prosecutors from South Carolina have been used in the cases instead of Virginia.
Halligan is a former insurance lawyer who helped defend Trump in a criminal case by former special counsel Jack Smith.
On Sept. 30, 2020, senators questioned Comey about how he handled the FBI’s 2016 investigations into pro-Trump election meddling by Russia and Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
There was a contentious back-and-forth between Comey and then-Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Cruz said in the 2020 questioning that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has “publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to The Wall Street Journal and that you were directly aware of it and that you directly authorized it.”
“Now, what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee cannot both be true. One or the other is false,” the senator said to Comey. “Who’s telling the truth?”
“I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by the testimony,” Comey replied.
McCabe was fired in 2018 days before he was to retire.
Comey was fired by Trump on May 9, 2017, three months after he became president the first time. Comey, appointed to a 10-year term by Obama in 2013, lost his job regarding his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and the ongoing FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In the James case, the Justice Department accused her of falsely claiming a Norfolk, Va., property that she bought in 2020 would be her primary residence to get better mortgage terms. U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker set a trial date for Jan. 26.
James filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his businesses. An appeals court upheld the Trump committed fraud, though the fine amount, which had exceeded $500 million with interest, was overturned for recalculation
