Lindsey Halligan, on the time particular assistant to the president, fixes an earring on the finish of an interview exterior of the White Home in August 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP
A federal choose on Monday dismissed the Justice Division’s legal circumstances in opposition to former FBI Director James Comey and New York Legal professional Common Letitia James, discovering that the performing U.S. legal professional who secured the indictments in opposition to the 2 outstanding critics of President Trump was unlawfully appointed.
The choice from U.S. District Choose Cameron McGowan Currie on the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as the highest prosecutor within the Jap District of Virginia marks a big setback to efforts to go after the president’s perceived political enemies.
In twin rulings, Choose Currie mentioned “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s faulty appointment,” together with the indictments in opposition to Comey and James, “have been illegal workouts of government energy and are hereby put aside.” Currie was nominated to the bench by former President Invoice Clinton.
The circumstances have been dismissed with out prejudice, that means the Justice Division could possibly deliver these circumstances once more.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned the administration disagrees with the ruling.
“All people is aware of James Comey lied to Congress, it’s as clear as day, and this choose took an unprecedented motion to throw these circumstances out, to protect James Comey and Letitia James from accountability based mostly on a technical ruling,” Leavitt mentioned on Fox Information. “We imagine that the legal professional on this case, Lindsay Halligan, is just not solely extraordinarily certified for this place, however she was actually legally appointed, and I do know the Division of Justice can be interesting this in very brief order.”
Former lawyer for Trump
Trump tapped Halligan to function performing U.S. Legal professional for the Jap District of Virginia after he pushed out the earlier prime prosecutor, who had expressed doubts about bringing fees in opposition to each Comey and James.
Halligan is a former insurance coverage legal professional who as soon as served as Trump’s private lawyer earlier than his return to workplace, when she joined his administration as a White Home aide.
Halligan, who has no earlier prosecutorial expertise, was sworn in as performing U.S. legal professional on Sept. 22. Three days later, she secured a two-count legal indictment in opposition to Comey—simply days earlier than the statute of limitations expired. He has pleaded not responsible.
“I am grateful that the courtroom ended the case in opposition to me, which was a prosecution based mostly on malevolence and incompetence,” Comey mentioned in a video posted on social media. “A message needs to be despatched that the president of the USA can’t use the Division of Justice to focus on his political enemies.”
His legal professional, Patrick Fitzgerald, mentioned the choice acknowledges that the case was introduced by “somebody who had not authority in anyway to be the USA Legal professional.”
“The choice additional signifies that as a result of the indictment is void, the statute of limitations has run and there will be no additional indictment,” he mentioned in a press release.
Halligan just one on the indictments
Two weeks after Comey was prosecuted, Halligan secured an indictment in opposition to James on fees of financial institution fraud and false statements to a monetary establishment. James, too, has pleaded not responsible.
“I stay fearless within the face of those baseless fees as I proceed combating for New Yorkers each single day,” James mentioned in a press release.
Her legal professional, Abbe Lowell, mentioned they’d proceed to struggle any additional fees in opposition to her.
“The President went to excessive measures to substitute one in all his allies to deliver these baseless fees after profession prosecutors refused,” Lowell mentioned in a press release. “This case was not about justice or the regulation; it was about focusing on Legal professional Common James for what she stood for and who she challenged.”
In each circumstances, Halligan was the one prosecutor to current earlier than the grand jury, the federal government has mentioned in courtroom papers.
Days earlier than she was sworn into the position, Trump in a social media submit known as on Legal professional Common Pam Bondi and the Justice Division to prosecute Comey, James and California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff.
Schiff is just not going through fees however federal prosecutors are investigating him on allegations of mortgage fraud.
—NPR’s Carrie Johnson contributed to this report.
