Letitia James, attorney general of New York, attends the National Night Out in Brooklyn on August 5. She has been accused of bank fraud but says the charges were brought against her improperly. File Photo by Derek French/UPI | License Photo
A federal judge Thursday showed skepticism about the credentials of a federal prosecutor selected by Donald Trump to bring criminal cases against his political rivals.
U.S. District Curt Judge Cameron Currie concerns over the qualifications could affect cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Leticia James. Currie did not issue a ruling after the hour-long hearing, but could do so before Thanksgiving.
Currie heard arguments Thursday in a hearing putting the cases before her. She traveled to Virginia from her assigned jurisdiction, the District of South Carolina, to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
The attorney’s for James and Comey have argued that Halligan is improperly in her position as interim U.S. attorney for the Easter District of West Virginia, Politico reported. Halligan is a former personal attorney for Trump.
Specifically, Currie, who reviewed grand jury transcripts in the cases, expressed concern that “Ms. Halligan acted alone,” and with no government attorneys in the room.
Currie will ultimately decide whether Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid since no appointed prosecutor signed the indictments. She appeared highly concerned that a section of the grand jury proceedings that led to Comey’s indictment “was missing,” that left some aspects of Halligan’s interactions with the grand jury unviewable.
Trump handpicked her to replace Erik Siebert, whom the president ousted in September after he refused to bring charges against people considered political opponents of his. Siebert had also served in the U.S. attorney position on an interim basis since May.
Within days of being named interim U.S. attorney, Halligan brought charges against Comey on obstruction charges related to the Russian collusion investigation and, separately, against James on charges she committed bank fraud related to a property she purchased in 2023.
Under federal law, U.S. attorney posts may be served on an interim basis for only 120 days without a Senate confirmation.
James and Comey’s attorneys said that 120 days had already passed under Siebert’s leadership by the time Halligan was named to the post in September. Additionally, they argue that 120-day timer does not reset when a new interim U.S. attorney is named, CNN reported.
Currie’s ruling on the matter could upend the Justice Department’s cases against James and Comey. Comey’s lawyers additionally said Halligan didn’t have the ability to bring charges against him because a five-year statute of limitations had passed.
Comey, a Republican, investigated potential collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russian actors. As a result of the investigation, Trump was and his businesses were convicted of civil fraud. The judgment, however, was vacated and is currently under appeal.
After winning the 2016 election, Trump fired Comey.
The Trump Justice Department, under Halligan, charged Comey with obstructing justice in connection with a 2020 Justice Department investigation into Comey and the FBI’s handling of the 2016 probe. Comey is accused of lying while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020.
Meanwhile, James was charged with bank fraud and making false statements on a financial statement in connection with an alleged misrepresentation of property she purchased in Virginia in 2020. The indictment said she falsely claimed the property would be her primary residence to get better mortgage terms.
Trump has repeatedly criticized James after she filed a civil fraud lawsuit in 2022 accusing him of giving false property valuations and estimates of his worth to get more beneficial loan rates and insurance deals he wouldn’t otherwise have been elligible for. Trump was ordered to pay $364 million as a result of the case, though a judge later overturned the fine, saying it was excessive.
Both James and Comey have pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. Comey alleges Trump dislikes him as a result of the 2016 investigation, and that’s the sole reason he has been indicted. James accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the justice system “as a tool of revenge.”
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump signs the funding package to reopen the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
