A federal judge has dismissed charges against two of Donald Trump’s political enemies, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, arguing that the prosecutor who charged them was appointed illegally. The decision represents a setback for the US President’s attempts to take revenge on those who he believes have harmed him in his political career.
Expulsion does not prevent charges from being brought again in the future by a prosecutor appointed under due process. For now, the court order dismisses two cases that raised concerns about the political use in which the Trump administration’s Justice Department, headed by Pam Bondi, appears to be exploiting the judicial system to pressure its enemies.
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that the appointment of Lindsay Halligan as special prosecutor was unconstitutional and that her actions in filing the charges were “unlawful” and “ineffective.” Halligan, who was part of Trump’s personal lawyer team, was working in the White House as an adviser when the US president selected her in September to serve as attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, where they opened investigations against two of his most hated enemies.
Almost immediately, the new special prosecutor indicted Comey before a grand jury on charges of lying to Congress. The grand jury decided there was sufficient evidence to indict him on two of the three charges proposed by Halligan, perjury and obstruction of Congress. Two weeks later, the former real estate attorney charged James, and a grand jury indicted her on mortgage fraud charges.
As the judge determined, Halligan’s appointment violates laws that prevent the Justice Department from appointing prosecutors at the top of the hierarchy without Senate approval. “Ms. Halligan has unlawfully held her position since September 22,” the judge wrote. “Because Ms. Halligan lacked the legal authority to bring the charge, I accept Mr. Comey’s argument and dismiss the charges,” he says.
In addition to arguing that Halligan’s appointment was invalid, the former FBI director and New York prosecutor also claimed, to call for their cases to be dismissed, that the charges against them were the result of a desire for revenge. Comey’s lawyers also alleged a series of irregularities in presenting the case to the grand jury. Each of these arguments, presented in different ways, is still awaiting a judicial hearing.
Monday’s decision refers exclusively to how Trump appointed Halligan to head one of the most important legal teams in the entire Justice Department, despite his complete lack of experience. The lawyer replaced a more experienced attorney, Eric Seibert, as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who resigned under pressure from the administration, after concluding that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against Comey.
After Seibert’s resignation, Trump posted an unusual message on his social network, Truth, in which he called on Bondi to indict Comey and James, among other figures who the president believes have harmed him in his political career. “Justice must be done now!” demanded the president.
“I am encouraged by today’s victory, and I am grateful for the prayers and support I have received from across the country. I remain brave in the face of these baseless accusations as I continue to fight for New Yorkers every day,” James said in a statement.
Comey, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 to head the FBI, launched an investigation by his department into ties between Russian representatives and the Trump campaign in 2016. In May 2017, four months after his inauguration, the Republican president removed him from office. Since then, they have both become strong critics of each other.
James, for her part, was the prosecutor who brought the then-former president and his company, the Trump Organization, to trial on fraud charges. The lawyer won the case, but this year an appeals court overturned the fine imposed by the trial judge, which at the time amounted to more than $500 million.
In addition to the prosecutor and former senior federal official, the Justice Department also indicted another Trump foe, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, on charges related to the illegal possession of classified documents. But experts consider this case to fall into a different category from the case of Comey and James: the investigation against him began years ago, before Trump returned to the White House, and was developed more comprehensively.