Justice Dept. appealing decision tossing out James Comey and Letitia James cases

Washington — The Justice Department said Friday it volition entreaty a brace of decisions tossing retired the transgression cases against erstwhile FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James connected the grounds that Lindsey Halligan, the authoritative who secured the indictments against them, was unlawfully appointed to her relation arsenic interim U.S. attorney.

The entreaty was expected, arsenic the White House and Attorney Pam Bondi had indicated that the Trump medication would inquire the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to reappraisal past month's rulings from U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie. But it comes arsenic Halligan and Justice Department lawyers person truthful acold doubly failed to unafraid a caller indictment against James.

Halligan's name is connected the notices of appeal, and she is listed as "United States lawyer and peculiar attorney."

Currie ruled that Halligan's assignment arsenic interim U.S. lawyer violated national instrumentality and the Constitution's Appointments Clause and ordered the transgression charges brought against Comey and James to beryllium dismissed.

"I reason that each actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey's indictment, represent unlawful exercises of enforcement powerfulness and indispensable beryllium acceptable aside," Currie wrote successful her opinion successful the Comey case, a enactment that she repeated successful her ruling successful the James case.

Halligan is simply a erstwhile security lawyer who was a subordinate of President Trump's defence squad successful the since-ended transgression lawsuit stemming from his alleged mishandling of delicate authorities documents. She was tapped by Attorney General Pam Bondi to service arsenic the interim U.S. lawyer successful eastbound Virginia successful September.

Soon aft Halligan temporarily took the helm of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, she secured indictments against Comey and James. Comey was charged with 2 counts stemming from grounds helium gave to Congress successful September 2020 and pleaded not guilty. He was indicted conscionable days earlier the statute of limitations for the offenses was acceptable to expire.

James faced charges of slope fraud and pleaded not guilty.

Since Currie ordered the cases against Comey and James to beryllium tossed out, Halligan has attempted to unafraid a caller indictment against James. But expansive juries successful Norfolk and Alexandria, Virginia, person each separately refused to indict James again. 

It's unclear whether Halligan has sought to re-indict Comey, though Currie suggested successful her November determination that prosecutors could not question a caller indictment successful his lawsuit due to the fact that the statute of limitations expired astatine the extremity of September. Additionally, a abstracted national justice successful Washington, D.C., blocked the Justice Department from accessing worldly it seized from 1 of Comey's friends much than 5 years ago, which Halligan had relied on erstwhile she presented the lawsuit against Comey to a expansive assemblage successful September.

Comey and James had besides moved to person the transgression charges against them tossed retired connected the grounds that their respective prosecutions were vindictive and selective. Judges overseeing their cases had not yet ruled connected those bids, however, erstwhile their cases were dismissed.