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A federal judge on Monday dismissed the cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, citing the alleged “unlawful” appointment of Lindsey Halligan, but the Department of Justice is set to appeal the order.
“Everybody knows that James Comey lied to Congress; it’s as clear as day,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
She continued, “This judge took an unprecedented action to throw these cases out to shield James Comey and Letitia James from accountability, based on a technical ruling, and the administration disagrees with that technical ruling.”
Halligan, who was appointed by President Trump as the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, allegedly did not have the lawful authority to present these indictments, according to U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie.
Leavitt said that the Trump administration believed that Ms. Halligan “is not only extremely qualified for this position, but she was, in fact, legally appointed, and I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order.”
According to Politico, Judge Currie’s decision to dismiss these cases against Comey and James will effectively return each individual to their pre-indictment status. This means that, if an appeal were to fail, the DOJ would have to file a new case if the agency wanted to pursue legal action against either James or Comey again.
However, in Comey’s case, some have pointed out that re-obtaining a grand jury indictment may be impossible because the statute of limitations in his case officially expired on September 30, 2025.
Whether Halligan’s position will be re-appointed remains to be seen. When asked about it, the white house press secretary on Monday told reporters, “No, because Lindsey Halligan was legally appointed, and that’s the administration’s position.”
