ADDS LETITIA JAMES' CASE, WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK AND LEDE
By Ahmet Salih Alacaci and Yasin Gungor
WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL (AA) - A federal judge dismissed criminal charges against both former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday over the unlawful appointment of the interim US attorney who secured the indictments.
District Judge Cameron Currie of the US District Court for the District of South Carolina ruled that Lindsey Halligan, "a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience," lacked lawful authority to prosecute either case.
"Having been appointed Interim U.S. Attorney by the Attorney General (Pam Bondi) just days before, Ms. Halligan secured a two-count indictment charging former FBI Director James B. Comey, Jr. with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding," Currie said in the order addressing Comey's case.
"Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey's motion and dismiss the indictment," the judge said.
Comey had asked the judge to dismiss the federal charges against him, which included allegedly lying and committing obstruction during congressional testimony of a probe related to Russian involvement in the 2016 US presidential election, which President Donald Trump won to secure his first term in office.
He was fired by Trump in 2017 as he oversaw an FBI investigation into potential collusion between Trump's 2016 election campaign and the Russian government, allegations Trump dismisses as a "hoax."
- 'Defective appointment'
Regarding James, who was charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, Currie said she agrees 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 found that Halligan's appointment violated several clauses of US law, rendering all actions flowing from the appointment unlawful.
"All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment, including securing and signing Ms. James's indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside," she ruled.
She also ruled that Bondi's attempts to ratify Halligan's actions were ineffective.
Both indictments were dismissed without prejudice, meaning the government could theoretically refile the charges later under a lawfully appointed prosecutor.
The order also said that "the power to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia...during the current vacancy lies with the district court until a U.S. Attorney is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate."
The rulings came after a series of missteps by the prosecution, including Halligan's acknowledgement last week that not every member of a grand jury saw the final indictment against the ex-FBI chief.
The White House challenged the ruling, arguing that Halligan was legally appointed.
"We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsey Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position but she was in fact legally appointed," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
She said Comey lying to Congress is "as clear as day" and accused Judge Currie of "shielding" him and James.
Leavitt said the Justice Department will appeal this decision in "very short order."