A U.S. District Judge has dismissed criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and former FBI Director James Comey. The judge reached their decision after deeming the prosecuting attorney in charge of the cases as unlawfully appointed.
Senior U.S. District Judge of South Carolina, Cameron McGowan Currie, ruled that Trump-appointed interim U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed to her position. Halligan, who obtained the indictments on the two, was sworn in as the attorney in September.
During a briefing on Monday, November 24, Attorney General Pam Bondi expressed her disapproval of the judgment. Firstly, by asserting that she "would take all available legal action, including an immediate appeal." Secondly, by defending Halligan's credentials. "Lindsay Halligan is an excellent U.S. attorney, and shame on them for not wanting her in office," Bondi commented.
Lindsey Halligan, an insurance lawyer based in Florida, has no prosecutorial experience. Her appointment left prosecutors shocked. Halligan is the most junior attorney on Trump's personal legal team. She represented the President in the civil cases that followed after the January 2022 raids at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The President placed her in the role of top prosecutor for the state of Virginia after her predecessor refused to file criminal charges against James Comey.
Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 after leading an investigation on Russian intervention in the 2016 US presidential election. Comey was later charged with lying to Congress in 2020. James was charged with mortgage fraud.
The judge's ruling is a major blow to the President as both Comey and James have been some of his most fiercest political rivals.
Comey commented on the results of the case by expressing that he was grateful a prosecution “based on malevolence and incompetence” was over. The former director also affirmed that Trump "cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies."
