A federal judge in the United States has dismissed criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
On Monday, District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that the prosecutor overseeing the two cases, Lindsay Harrigan, was illegally appointed, resulting in the indictment being quashed.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The decision is a major setback for President Donald Trump’s administration, which had personally petitioned for criminal charges against James and Comey.
But the legal adventures of James and Comey, two prominent Trump critics, may not be over yet.
Mr. Curry rendered his verdict without prejudice in dismissing the criminal charges. This means both cases could be refiled.
However, the court ruled that Harrigan “does not have legal authority” to bring charges, leaving doubts about his future role as a prosecutor.
Following the ruling, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt denounced Calley as a “partisan judge” and emphasized that the administration would contest the ruling.
“I know there were judges who were clearly trying to protect Letitia James and James Comey from liability, which is why they took the unprecedented action of throwing out the charges against them,” Levitt said.
“However, the Department of Justice will soon file an appeal. And it is our position that Lindsay Harrigan is eminently qualified for this position. But more importantly, she was legally appointed to the position.”
President Trump nominates Harrigan as prosecutor
Harrigan was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September.
Mr. Trump had a public falling out with Mr. Harrigan’s predecessor, Eric Siebert, and Mr. Harrigan reportedly declined to press charges against Mr. James, citing a lack of evidence.
This caused anger in the White House. Mr. Siebert announced his resignation on September 19, and the next day Mr. Trump announced on social media that he had fired the prosecutor himself.
“He also lied to the media and said he quit and we had no case,” Trump wrote. “No, I fired him. There’s a big thing going on and a lot of lawyers and legal experts are saying that.”
In his message, the president also addressed Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying the Justice Department must move forward with charges against James, Comey and California Sen. Adam Schiff.
“What will happen to Mr. Comey, Mr. Adam Shifty Schiff, and Mr. Letizia? They are all thoroughly guilty, but nothing will be done,” Trump wrote.
He urged Bondi to act immediately to secure prosecution and suggested Mr Harrigan would cooperate.
“We can’t delay it any longer. Our reputation and credibility will be destroyed,” Trump said. “Justice must be served now!!!”
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Harrigan had no experience as a prosecutor, and his background was primarily in insurance law. He previously served as Trump’s personal attorney.
Within days of becoming U.S. attorney, Mr. Harrigan secured an indictment against Mr. Comey on charges of lying to Congress and disrupting the Senate filibuster.
Then, on October 6, Harrigan announced a second indictment against James for alleged mortgage fraud.
The third indictment arrived on October 16, this time against John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser.
All three have denied wrongdoing and called the accusations an act of political retaliation. Mr. Comey, Mr. James and Mr. Bolton have all publicly criticized Mr. Trump, and Mr. James once successfully pursued a civil fraud case against Mr. Trump in New York state.
Comey and James call for dismissal
Defense attorneys have sought multiple avenues to have the case dismissed before trial.
On November 13, Judge Curry heard opening arguments on the petition filed by Mr. James and Mr. Comey.
They argued that Mr. Harrigan’s appointment as U.S. attorney was invalid because it did not have judicial approval.
Typically, interim U.S. attorneys can only hold office for 120 days. After that period, a federal judge in the district could decide who will serve in that role.
Mr. Siebert served 120 days and received judicial clearance to continue as acting U.S. attorney until the Senate confirms a permanent appointee for the role.
However, Harrigan was unable to get approval from a judge. According to Comey and James’ lawyers, this made her appointment as U.S. attorney illegal.
But Justice Department lawyers argued that the issue was merely a “clerical error” and that Attorney General Bondi signed the indictment as well.
Still, Curry’s court hearing raised serious questions about the validity of the charges.
Mr. Curry expressed concern that the grand jury minutes in Mr. Comey’s case were incomplete, an issue later echoed by Judge William Fitzpatrick in a separate decision on Nov. 17.
He said the records show a “disturbing pattern of serious investigative errors,” including misleading statements by prosecutors and the use of unrelated search warrants. He also noted that it appears the final indictment against Comey was not fully presented to the grand jury as required.
In a separate courtroom last week overseen by Judge Michael Nachmanoff, the Justice Department acknowledged that it had not actually given the grand jury a chance to consider Comey’s final indictment.
