Judge dismisses cases against James Comey and Letitia James

Currie dismissed both cases without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department could file them again with a properly appointed prosecutor.

Halligan, a former personal lawyer to Trump, took charge of the investigations after her predecessor stepped down. Reuters reported that other career prosecutors had refused to sign the indictments, leaving Halligan to advance the cases alone.

Comey had been charged with making false statements and obstructing Congress. James faced charges of bank fraud and lying to a financial institution. Both had pleaded not guilty.

Who are they

James Comey
Comey served as FBI Director from 2013 until Trump dismissed him in 2017. He later led investigations related to Trump’s conduct, becoming one of the former president’s most outspoken critics.

Letitia James
Letitia James is New York’s attorney general. She has led multiple high-profile cases involving Trump’s businesses. After the ruling, AP reported that she said she was “heartened” by the judge’s decision and called the charges “baseless”.

Why the judge ruled this way

Lawyers for Comey and James argued, according to Reuters, that Halligan’s appointment broke federal rules that limit how long someone can serve as an interim US Attorney without Senate confirmation. They also said repeated interim appointments would allow officials to bypass the Senate entirely.

The Justice Department argued the opposite. AP reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi later tried to strengthen Halligan’s position by naming her a special attorney and “ratifying” the indictments. Judge Currie questioned why that extra step was taken if her appointment was believed to be valid.

Currie ultimately decided Halligan’s appointment did not meet legal requirements and struck down the indictments.

(With inputs from Reuters and AP)