This makes me smile
BREAKING: Judge dismisses cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after finding prosecutor was unlawfully appointed.
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) 2025-11-24T17:49:03Z
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/judge-dismisses-cases-james-comey-letitia-james-finding-prosecutor-was-rcna244775
A federal judge dismissed the criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after finding 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 in her ruling, finding the indictment should be tossed because the appointment of former Donald Trump personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan was invalid and she'd lacked the authority to present a case to a grand jury.
She issued a separate ruling dismissing the James case.
Because Halligan, who'd been appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia at Trump's direction, was the only prosecutor to present the cases and sign the indictments, the indictments should be voided, the judge found.
The ruling could have major ramifications for other prosecutions brought by Halligan’s office during her tenure. A similar ruling disqualifying Alina Habba as the New Jersey U.S. Attorney has resulted in a number of criminal cases brought under her leadership being stuck in legal limbo while she appeals the decision.
Currie seemed largely skeptical of the Justice Department's position at a rare joint hearing on the issue with lawyers for Comey and James on Nov. 13, where a prosecutor portrayed questions about Halligan's appointment as "a paperwork error."
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