WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A federal judge has dismissed criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the appointment of prosecutor Lindsey Halligan who brought the charges was invalid.
'The Attorney General's attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid,' Judge Cameron McGowan Currie wrote in her order Monday, referring to President Donald Trump's appointment of the former White House aide with no previous prosecutorial experience, as interim US Attorney in September.
The 77-year-old senior Judge, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994, dismissed the charges in separate rulings.
On October 9, Halligan, aappeared before a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia just two weeks after being appointed Interim U.S. Attorney. Halligan secured a two-count indictment charging New York Attorney General Letitia James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
James moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that Halligan, the sole prosecutor who presented the case to the grand jury, was unlawfully appointed in violation of the Constitution. 'I agree with Ms.James that the Attorney General's attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid. And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority topresent the indictment, I will grant Ms. James's motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice,' Judge Currie wrote in her order.
Halligan was appointed on September 22 to replace Erik Siebert, who resigned as interim US attorney under pressure.
The judge noted that the attorney general's authority to appoint an interim replacement expired on May 21, and her action is in violation of the Constitution's Appointments Clause.
The decision reportedly marks a setback for Trump, who nominated Halligan for the role and appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi amid increasing pressure to bring criminal cases against his most prominent critics and political enemies.
In a separate order quashing the charges against Comey, Currie said, 'I agree with Mr. Comey that the attorney general's attempt to install Ms. Halligan as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid. And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey's motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice.'
She added, 'All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment' including the indictments against Comey and James 'were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the department of justice would file a case appealing against Monday's rulings.
In a video posted on Instagram, Comey said the President 'cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies.'
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