A federal judge dismissed the criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, finding the prosecutor who brought the cases, former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, was not lawfully appointed.
U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said she agreed with Comey, who moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that Halligan's appointment was illegal.
"Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment," Currie wrote in finding that Halligan lacked the authority to present a case to a grand jury.
"All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside," the judge wrote, describing the insurance lawyer as "a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience."
She issued a separate, similar ruling dismissing the James case.
“This case presents the unique, if not unprecedented, situation where an unconstitutionally appointed prosecutor, 'exercising power [she] did not lawfully possess,’… acted alone in conducting a grand jury proceeding and securing an indictment,” the ruling said.
Because Halligan, who was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia at President Donald Trump's direction, was the only prosecutor to present the cases and sign the indictments, the indictments should be voided, the judge found.
Attorney General Pam Bondi reacted to the dismissal of the cases by saying during a news conference in Memphis that the Justice Department will "be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal."
Bondi also defended Halligan, calling her "an excellent" attorney.
After the ruling, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “Lindsey Halligan was legally appointed, and that’s the administration’s position.”
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment. Halligan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Comey, in a video on Instagram, said, "I’m grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking."
“This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies,” he said.
"I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again, and my attitude is going to be the same. I’m innocent. I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary, the gift from our founders that protects us from a would-be tyrant," he added.
Responding to Comey's statement, Bondi told reporters that she was "not worried about someone who has been charged with a very serious crime," adding that "his alleged actions were a betrayal of public trust.”
James praised the judge's ruling.
“I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country. I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day,” she said in a statement.
Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that the judge'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."
"We will continue to challenge any further politically motivated charges through every lawful means available,” Lowell said.
Both indictments were dismissed "without prejudice," meaning they could be brought again later.
Comey attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement that his reading of the ruling suggests the case can't be refiled because the five-year statute of limitations has expired since the indictment was brought.
Fitzgerald said the ruling "indicates that because the indictment is void, the statute of limitations has run and there can be no further indictment."
The Justice Department has said in court papers that it believes the case could still move forward because of U.S. Code 3288. The federal statute says in part, “Whenever an indictment or information charging a felony is dismissed for any reason after the period prescribed by the applicable statute of limitations has expired, a new indictment may be returned in the appropriate jurisdiction within six calendar months of the date of the dismissal of the indictment or information.”
Comey's attorneys have countered that the six-month grace period doesn't apply in this case because Halligan didn't have the power to bring an indictment to begin with, so all of her official actions are void — a prospect the judge expressly agreed with.
Comey and James have other motions pending before the judges presiding over their cases, contending the charges should be dismissed because they are the result of “selective and vindictive” prosecutions. Those motions seek to have the cases tossed "with prejudice," meaning prosecutors couldn’t revive them.
Carl Tobias, the Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, told NBC News that Monday's ruling would be difficult for the government to overcome.
“I think the government will do whatever it can to overturn this, but I don’t see how that’s going to happen,” he said.
The invalidation of Halligan’s appointment was fatal to the Comey and James indictments because of the unique role Halligan played in the cases against two of Trump’s political enemies, and it could have ripple effects on other cases that were handled under more typical processes.
Another high-profile defendant being prosecuted by Halligan's office, Kabul airport bombing suspect Mohammad Sharifullah, also filed a challenge to her appointment this month, charging she doesn't have the authority to supervise or participate in his case. Sharifullah was indicted by Halligan’s predecessor, and his motion is still pending.
A ruling disqualifying Alina Habba as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey has resulted in a number of criminal cases brought under her leadership being stuck in legal limbo while she appeals the decision.
Currie seemed largely skeptical of the Justice Department's defense of Halligan at a rare joint hearing on the issue with lawyers for Comey and James on Nov. 13, when a prosecutor portrayed questions about Halligan's appointment as "a paperwork error."
Comey's attorney said it was much more than that and a "fatal flaw" in the prosecution of his client.
Comey was indicted on charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation, while James was indicted on charges of bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. Both pleaded not guilty.
In a highly unusual move, Halligan was the lone prosecutor to present their cases to the grand jury and the lone prosecutor to sign their indictments. Other prosecutors in her office had recommended against charging Comey and James because they didn't believe there was enough evidence to secure convictions, NBC News previously reported.
Trump said he was naming Halligan U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia on Sept. 20 — the day after he forced out his initial pick, Erik Siebert, who resisted pressure to prosecute Comey and James.
Halligan's appointment was immediately viewed as problematic because, according to federal statute, people in that post may serve for only 120 days after having been appointed U.S. attorney unless they are confirmed by the Senate before then.
The Senate had not confirmed Siebert, so federal judges of the Eastern District of Virginia exercised their independent appointment authority to keep him on beyond the 120-day limit.
Lawyers for Comey and James contended that after Siebert was forced out, the responsibility for naming his replacement belonged to the judges, not Attorney General Pam Bondi. To rule otherwise, Comey's attorney said in a filing, would render the 120-day period "meaningless, and the Attorney General could indefinitely evade the alternate procedures that Congress mandated."
The Justice Department maintained that Halligan's appointment was valid since the office was vacant after Siebert's departure. The "Senate has not refused advice and consent to Ms. Halligan — her nomination remains pending. The Attorney General therefore lawfully appointed Ms. Halligan as interim U.S. Attorney" and "the motions to dismiss should be denied," the Justice Department said in a filing.
Trump's Truth Social post naming Halligan to the position came the day after Siebert was forced out — and shortly after another social media post in which he publicly urged Bondi to push ahead with prosecutions of Comey, James and another perceived political adversary, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California.
"Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, 'same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,'” said the post, which a source previously confirmed to NBC News had been intended as a direct message to Bondi, not a public post.
"We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility," Trump continued, while praising Halligan as "a really good lawyer."
Five days after the post, Halligan, who had no prosecutorial experience, presented the Comey case to a grand jury. The presentation came days before a five-year statute of limitations on the charges was set to expire.
Currie, a Bill Clinton appointee who is based in South Carolina, heard the arguments on the disqualification issue instead of a judge from the Eastern District of Virginia since local judges would be involved in selecting Halligan's replacement.
The Trump administration's stance on the 120-day rule has led to U.S. attorneys in California and Nevada being disqualified, as well. The Justice Department is appealing those rulings.
