Judge Dismisses Indictments Of James Comey And Letitia James

A funny thing happens when an incompetent, mediocre white man is put in charge of the nation, and he fills his administration with equally mediocre and incompetent white people, and then uses the powers of his office to exact revenge against his political enemies, collaborating with the mediocre and incompetent white people he put in power to do so.

It all just falls apart, and the mediocre, incompetent and insufferably Caucasian administration continues to embarrass itself.

On Monday, a federal judge dismissed the criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after finding that Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney appointed by President Donald Trump — the DE-White hire who had never prosecuted a case before her appointment — was unlawfully appointed to handle the cases.

From NBC News:

U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said that she agreed with Comey, who moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that Halligan’s appointment was illegal.

“Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment,” Currie wrote in finding that Halligan lacked the authority to present a case to a grand jury.

“All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside,” the judge wrote, describing the insurance lawyer as “a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience.”

She issued a separate, similar ruling dismissing the James case.

“This case presents the unique, if not unprecedented, situation where an unconstitutionally appointed prosecutor, ‘exercising power [she] did not lawfully possess,’… acted alone in conducting a grand jury proceeding and securing an indictment,” the ruling said.

Because Halligan, who was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia at President Donald Trump’s direction, was the only prosecutor to present the cases and sign the indictments, the indictments should be voided, the judge found.

Here’s a question: Why didn’t the Trump administration know what it was doing was illegal?

Why didn’t the president of the United States know his appointment of Halligan was unconstitutional? Why didn’t U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, or literally anyone in the Department of Justice, know this ruling would come if Halligan was put in charge?

As CNN noted, Halligan “was selected for the role after the Trump administration pushed out the previous interim US attorney amid increasing pressure to bring cases against Comey and James.” In fact,  at least two seasoned prosecutors were fired by the Trump administration for opposing the charges against James — who was indicted on charges of bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution — because they believed the charges had no merit. Attorneys inside the Eastern District of Virginia reportedly had similar concerns regarding the prosecution of Comey, who was indicted for allegedly giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, charges that are related to his testimony on Russia’s interference with the 2016 presidential election.

Of course, the constitutional issue regarding Halligan’s appointment isn’t that she was placed in the role just because she was a Trump loyalist who would do what competent, qualified and experienced prosecutors refused to do; the problem was she got involved in the cases against Comey and James without having been confirmed by Congress and approved by district judges before the end of a 120-day grace period.

From CNN:

In the cases against Comey — which Halligan brought before a grand jury just days after her appointment — and James, defense attorneys argued the 120-day period that an interim US attorney is allowed to serve prior to confirmation from the Senate or approval from the district’s judges had already expired when Halligan took the position. This, they said, meant that Halligan’s appointment was unlawful.

Currie agreed, writing that agreeing with the government’s position would give Trump and other officials authority “to evade the Senate confirmation process indefinitely by stacking successive 120-day appointments.”

“The 120-day clock began running with Mr. Siebert’s appointment on January 21, 2025,” she wrote, referring to Erik Siebert who had been serving as the interim US Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia until he was pushed out in September.

“When that clock expired on May 21, 2025, so too did the Attorney General’s appointment authority,” Currie wrote, adding that Attorney General Pam Bondi’s “attempt to install” Halligan “was invalid and that Ms. Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since September 22, 2025.”

Currie wrote the unlawful appointment should “invalidate” Halligan’s actions — including presenting those two indictments to grand juries.

So, again, why wasn’t the administration aware of these rules? Why the haste to move forward with these cases without having all of its ducks in a row? Does anyone in this administration have a clue what they’re doing?

Under Trump, the Department of Justice has already proven that it quite literally couldn’t indict a ham sandwich, so it’s not terribly surprising that it so thoroughly shot itself in the foot by appointing Halligan, who had already proven she was not competent enough to handle high-profile cases like James’ and Comey’s, even if she had been appointed lawfully.

Last month, we reported that Halligan had sent scores of text messages to a reporter about James’ case and waited until it was far too late to say she intended for the messages to be “off the record,” only to complain after being informed by the reporter that she clearly didn’t understand how “off the record” actually works. Last week, we reported that federal magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick warned that the case against Comey could be thrown out due to a series of apparent errors committed in front of the grand jury by Halligan, including her admitted failure to present an amended indictment to the grand jury at all.

It’s almost as if she didn’t know what she was doing, which would make her a perfect fit for the Trump administration in general.

Anyway, according to Politico, James issued a statement praising the judge’s ruling.

“I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” she said. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”

Comey recorded a video statement, saying he was grateful “the court ended the case against me,” and calling the prosecution “a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking.”

It should be noted, of course, that Judge Currie dismissed the cases against James and Comey “without prejudice,” meaning the charges could be brought again at a later time.

In other words, the Trump administration might get another chance to demonstrate its woeful incompetence again in the future.

Sad.

SEE ALSO:

Letitia James Prosecutor Sends Unsolicited Texts To Reporter

Judge: Lindsay Halligan’s Case Against Comey Is Lacking