A federal judge threw out two high-profile Justice Department cases on Monday after ruling that the prosecutor chosen by President Trump to handle them was appointed improperly.
U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie found that Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-backed U.S. attorney who brought charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, did not have the legal authority to serve in the role. According to the judge, the 120-day window for interim appointments had run out under the previous prosecutor, which meant only the district’s federal judges — not Attorney General Pam Bondi — had the power to select a replacement.
Currie wrote that any actions taken under Halligan’s appointment, including signing Comey’s indictment, were unlawful and must be voided. She repeated the same conclusion in her ruling dismissing the case against Letitia James.
Both indictments were dismissed without prejudice, which leaves room for the Justice Department to try again with a legally appointed prosecutor, although it is not clear if that is possible.
Halligan is now the fourth Trump-aligned U.S. attorney whose appointment has been struck down. Comey and James both challenged her involvement from the start, arguing that she was the only prosecutor who secured their indictments and that her lack of proper authority made the charging documents invalid.
The vacancy Halligan filled opened after the district’s previous U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, resigned. Siebert had refused to bring charges against Comey over his 2020 congressional testimony after Trump pushed for legal action. Trump pressed Bondi to appoint Halligan, and she did so.
However, the timeline worked against the administration. The 120-day clock that began when Siebert became interim U.S. attorney expired on May 21. At that point, district judges unanimously kept Siebert in place until the Senate confirmed a permanent nominee. Currie ruled that this decision shifted appointment power away from the Attorney General, and it did not automatically return once Siebert stepped down.
Defense attorneys argued that allowing Bondi to restart the process whenever an interim prosecutor left office would create a loophole that bypassed the Senate confirmation process entirely. Prosecutors countered that the law did not restrict the Attorney General from making a new appointment, calling concerns about abuse unrealistic. Currie sided with the defendants, saying the text of the statute supports their interpretation.
Halligan took the job on September 22, and soon after, Comey was charged with making false statements and obstruction related to his 2020 Senate testimony. His son-in-law, who was working in the office at the time, quit in protest. Comey later posted a video calling the prosecution “malevolence and incompetence” and said he expected further retaliation from Trump. He insisted he is innocent and said he trusts the federal courts to remain independent.
Even though Comey’s case was dismissed without prejudice, the Justice Department may not be able to pursue it again. The statute of limitations had nearly expired when the indictment was filed, and Currie noted that an invalid indictment does not pause the clock.
Letitia James faced mortgage-fraud related charges involving a Virginia property. After Monday’s decision, she said she was relieved and would continue focusing on her work for New Yorkers. Her attorney said the case had always been political and vowed to fight any future attempts to revive it.
Both Comey and James denied wrongdoing and entered not-guilty pleas earlier in the process.
The White House pushed back on the ruling. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the facts behind the indictments remain unchanged and that the administration does not consider this the end of the matter. On Fox News, press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the judge’s decision as an attempt to protect Comey and James from accountability. She said the administration still stands behind Halligan and expects the Justice Department to appeal quickly.
Halligan now joins other Trump-appointed prosecutors in New Jersey, Nevada, and parts of California who have been removed from cases by judges. Unlike those situations, however, Halligan’s indictments moved forward without support from career prosecutors, leaving her more vulnerable to legal challenges.