A US federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie concluded that the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, who brought the charges at President Donald Trump‘s behest, was illegally appointed by the US Justice Department.
The ruling dismisses two cases Trump had publicly called for as he pressured the Justice Department to go against high-profile figures who had criticized him and led probes into his conduct.
Why was Halligan deemed not fit for purpose?
Halligan, a former personal lawyer to Trump, was named interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September, taking over both cases despite having no previous experience in prosecutions.
Monday’s ruling comes after both Comey and James accused the Justice Department of violating the US Constitution’s Appointments Clause and federal law when appointing Halligan.
Judge Currie found that Halligan “had no legal authority” to bring indictments against the accused.
However, Currie dismissed the cases “without prejudice,” meaning the Justice Department will have the opportunity to seek new indictments with a different prosecutor at the helm.
Currie wrote that in appointing Halligan, the Justice Department had used “unlawful exercises of executive power.”
What have been the reactions of Comey and James?
“I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” James said in a statement. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said James would “continue to challenge any further politically motivated charges through every lawful means available.”
Meanwhile, Comey said in a video posted on Instagram that he’s “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.”
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
