A federal judge, Cameron McGowan Currie has dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.
The orders make Lindsey Halligan the latest Trump administration prosecutor to be disqualified because of the manner in which they were appointed.
Today’s ruling stemmed from a claim by Comey and James’ Attorneys, that Lindsey Halligan wasn’t properly appointed to her position when she brought the indictments.
Trump picked Lindsey Halligan to take over a key prosecutor’s office, after the previous occupant said that there was not enough evidence for any indictments.
The objection to Halligan’s appointment was just one part of a multipronged assault on the indictments, which included arguments that the cases were vindictive. Comey’s lawyers had also made claims of vindictive prosecution, citing statements made by Trump and irregularities with the way the case was brought.
Comey and James have argued the indictments brought against them by Trump’s Department of Justice were politically motivated.
Comey was charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice in September, after President Donald Trump called for his prosecution and appointed a new federal prosecutor to pursue the case
Both charges relate to Comey’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020, where he was questioned about the FBI’s handling of two investigations – one on pro-Trump election interference by Russia and another on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
James, the Attorney General of New York, was charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The federal government alleged that James bought a three-bedroom home in Norfolk using a mortgage loan that required her to use the property as her secondary residence, but she instead rented it out.
The charges argued “misrepresentation” allowed James to obtain favourable loan terms that would not have been available for an investment property, prosecutors claimed. Both James and Comey have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges.
Both defendants had asked for the cases to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning that the Justice Department would not be able to bring them again.
However, the judge instead dismissed them without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department could try to bring the charges again with another prosecutor, though it was not immediately clear if or how the Justice Department might attempt to revive the prosecutions.
The rulings from US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie amount to a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to target Trump’s political opponents as well as its legal maneuvering to hastily install a loyalist prosecutor willing to file the cases.
James Hails Court’s Dismissal Of Cases
In a statement, James said that she was heartened by the “victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country.”
The New York Attorney General, a Democrat, added, “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
Abbe David Lowell, the lawyer for New York Attorney General Letitia James, noted that the court’s order “acknowledges what’s been clear about this case from the beginning.”
“The President went to extreme measures to substitute one of his allies to bring these baseless charges after career prosecutors refused.”
Abbe David Lowell
He added that the case was not about justice or the law; it was about targeting Attorney General James for what she stood for and who she challenged. “We will continue to challenge any further politically motivated charges through every lawful means available,” he stressed.
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