US judge tosses cases against Trump foes James Comey and Letitia James
Federal judge rules Trump ally Lindsey Halligan, appointed to prosecute the pair, had ‘no legal authority’ to bring the indictments
A US federal judge on Monday dismissed criminal charges against two perceived adversaries of US President Donald Trump, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling the US attorney he hand-picked to prosecute them was unlawfully appointed.
The ruling throws out two cases Trump had publicly called for as he pressured Justice Department leaders to move against high-profile figures who had criticised him and led investigations into his conduct.
Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to Trump, was named interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September to take over both investigations despite having no previous prosecutorial experience. The findings by US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie came after both Comey and James accused the Trump Justice Department of violating the US Constitution’s Appointments Clause and federal law by appointing Halligan in September.
Currie found that Halligan “had no legal authority” to bring indictments against either Comey or James. But Currie dismissed the cases “without prejudice”, giving the Justice Department an opportunity to seek new indictments with a different prosecutor at the helm.
“All actions flowing from Ms Halligan’s defective appointment,” Currie wrote, were “unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside”.