In a significant legal development, a federal judge has thrown out criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The ruling represents a substantial rebuke of how the Trump administration and its Justice Department handled these high-profile cases.
Illegal Appointment Leads to Case Dismissal
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, appointed by President Bill Clinton, issued separate rulings on Monday declaring that the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was unlawful. The judge dismissed all charges against both Comey and James without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could potentially refile the cases with proper legal authority.
Judge Currie wrote in her rulings that "the attorney general's attempt to install Ms. Halligan as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid and that Ms. Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since Sept. 22, 2025." The decision came after President Donald Trump abruptly installed Halligan in September following her predecessor's resignation under pressure to bring charges against the two prominent figures.
Broader Pattern of Legal Rebukes
The rulings mark another astonishing judicial rejection of how Trump and his Justice Department conducted legal proceedings. This case joins similar rulings where federal judges found the lawyering of other Trump-appointed prosecutors to be suspect or unlawful. The appointments of three other U.S. Attorneys in New Jersey, Nevada, and Los Angeles have also been ruled illegal by judges in separate decisions.
Attorney General Pam Bondi determined how to appoint Halligan, who became the sole prosecutor to secure separate grand jury indictments against both Comey and James. The Justice Department's unusual handling of these appointments drew sharp criticism from legal experts and defense attorneys.
Defense Reaction and Legal Implications
James's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, characterized the charges as politically motivated, stating that Trump "went to extreme measures to substitute one of his allies to bring these baseless charges after career prosecutors refused." Lowell added that they would "continue to challenge any further politically motivated charges through every lawful means available."
Both James and Comey had filed separate legal challenges arguing that Halligan's appointment violated the Justice Department's established process for naming interim U.S. attorneys. Judge Currie emphasized the dangerous precedent that would be set by allowing such appointments, writing that "the implications of a contrary conclusion are extraordinary." She noted that accepting the government's position would mean "the Government could send any private citizen off the street — attorney or not — into the grand jury room to secure an indictment so long as the attorney general gives her approval after the fact. That cannot be the law."
The specific charges involved Comey being indicted in September for allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction related to testimony he gave in 2020, while James faced indictment in October for one count of alleged bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution concerning a mortgage on her Virginia home.
The Justice Department and a lawyer for Comey did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the judge's decision. The rulings continue a pattern of federal judges pushing back against what they perceive as improper legal tactics employed during the Trump administration.
