A federal judge dismissed the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, arguing that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s appointment was unlawful.
“Mr. Comey now moves to dismiss the indictment on the ground that Ms. Halligan, the sole prosecutor who presented the case to the grand jury, was unlawfully appointed in violation of 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Constitution’s Appointments Clause,” Judge Cameron Currie wrote.
“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,” the judge explained. “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.”
“In sum, the text, structure, and history of section 546 point to one conclusion: the Attorney General’s authority to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney lasts for a total of 120 days from the date she first invokes section 546 after the departure of a Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney,” she said. “If the position remains vacant at the end of the 120-day period, the exclusive authority to make further interim appointments under the statute shifts to the district court, where it remains until the President’s nominee is confirmed by the Senate.”
The judge concluded that “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside.” The same line was repeated in her decision in the case regarding James.
Halligan filed indictments against Comey, James, and State Department adviser Ashley Tellis in October. American Faith reported that Comey was accused of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding tied to his 2020 Senate testimony. James faced bank fraud and false statement charges involving a Virginia mortgage, as well as allegedly falsifying property documents. Tellis was indicted for unlawfully retaining more than 1,000 pages of classified materials at his home in Virginia.
