Judge tosses Comey, James cases after finding prosecutor unlawfully appointed : NPR

Lindsey Halligan, then special assistant to the president, repairs an earring at the end of an interview outside the White House in August 2025, in Washington.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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Jacquelyn Martin/AP

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Justice Department’s criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the acting U.S. attorney who obtained indictments against the two prominent critics of President Trump was illegally appointed.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie’s ruling on Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as lead prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia marks a significant setback in efforts to prosecute the president’s alleged political enemies.

In a dual ruling, Judge Currie said “all actions arising from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment,” including the indictments against Comey and James, “constituted unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby quashed.” Currie was appointed to the bench by former President Bill Clinton.

The cases were dismissed without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department might be able to take them up again.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration disagreed with the decision.

“Everyone knows that James Comey lied to Congress, it’s as clear as day, and this judge has taken an unprecedented step to dismiss these cases, to protect James Comey and Letitia James from liability based on a technicality,” Leavitt said on Fox News. “We believe that the attorney in this case, Lindsay Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position, but was in fact legally appointed, and I know that the Department of Justice will appeal in a very short time.”

Former Trump lawyer

Trump appointed Halligan as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after ousting the former lead prosecutor, who had expressed doubts about bringing charges against Comey and James.

Halligan is a former insurance lawyer who served as Trump’s personal attorney before his return to office, when she joined his administration as a White House aide.

Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, was sworn in as acting U.S. attorney on September 22. Three days later, she obtained a two-count criminal indictment against Comey, just days before the statute of limitations expired. He pleaded not guilty.

“I am grateful that the court has ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malice and incompetence,” Comey said in a video posted to social media. “We must send the message that the President of the United States cannot use the Justice Department to target his political enemies.”

His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the ruling recognizes that the case was brought by “someone who had no authority to be the United States Attorney.”

“The decision further states that since the indictment is void, the statute of limitations has expired and there can be no further indictment,” it said in a statement.

Halligan alone on indictments

Two weeks after Comey was prosecuted, Halligan obtained an indictment against James for bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. James also pleaded not guilty.

“I remain fearless in the face of these baseless accusations and continue to fight for New Yorkers every day,” James said in a statement.

Her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said they would continue to fight any new charges against her.

“The president took extreme measures to have one of his allies bring these baseless accusations after career prosecutors refused,” Lowell said in a statement. “This case was not about justice or the law; it was about targeting Attorney General James for what she stood for and who she challenged.”

In both cases, Halligan was the only prosecutor to appear before the grand jury, the government said in court documents.

Days before he was sworn in, Trump, in a social media post, called on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department to prosecute Comey, James and California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff.

Schiff is not facing charges, but federal prosecutors are investigating allegations of mortgage fraud.

—NPR’s Carrie Johnson contributed to this report.