It’s all over but the final chapter. Trump’s case against Comey is dead.
Case Dismissed
The Wall Street Journal reports Comey and James Cases Dismissed After Judge Finds Prosecutor Wasn’t Properly Appointed
A federal judge on Monday dismissed criminal charges against both former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor President Trump chose to bring the cases was unlawfully appointed.
The pair of decisions from Judge Cameron McGowan Currie deal a setback to the Justice Department, which brought charges against Comey and James within weeks of Trump publicly calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute several of his prominent critics.
Comey and James both contested Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as the interim U.S. attorney in eastern Virginia, while also pointing to Trump’s public statements to argue that his prosecution was rooted in the president’s desire for retribution against a perceived adversary.
Currie, a Bill Clinton appointee who normally sits in South Carolina, agreed with arguments from Comey and James that the administration had unlawfully bypassed the customary confirmation process by installing Halligan.
Currie also rejected Bondi’s ratification of the two indictments—weeks after they were filed—in a bid to bolster them against challenges to Halligan’s appointment.
“The implications of a contrary conclusion are extraordinary,” the judge wrote. “It 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 Justice Department can appeal the decision. A department spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Comey had asked Currie to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” a move that would have foreclosed reviving the prosecutions. The judge instead dismissed both Comey’s and James’s cases without prejudice, leaving open a door for the Justice Department to potentially bring charges anew, legal experts said.
Any attempt to do so in Comey’s case could face complications, former prosecutors and other legal experts said, because the five-year statute of limitations has now passed on the statement to Congress at issue.
Trump had appointed Halligan, a former insurance lawyer and his personal attorney with no prior prosecutorial experience, after forcing out her predecessor, Erik Siebert, who had faced pressure to bring charges against the president’s perceived foes.
In the case against James, prosecutors alleged that the Democratic New York attorney general misrepresented her intentions for a home in Norfolk, Va., to secure more-favorable loan terms. She pleaded not guilty and called her case a weaponization of justice.
Comey Case Doomed for Multiple Reasons
- Halligan unlawfully appointed.
- Shocking incompetence of Trump’s Department of Justice.
- Statute of limitations expired.
It’s possible Trump can win point one on appeal. Trump is dead on points two and three.
Trump’s Incompetent Lawfare Against Comey Will Blow Sky High with Dismissal
For discussion of point two, please see Trump’s Incompetent Lawfare Against Comey Will Blow Sky High with Dismissal
Lawyers are amazed at the shocking incompetence of Trump’s Department of Justice.
What’s Next?
This case will be dismissed. I doubt Halligan lasts long in the administration. Any bets?
Trump does not like losers and she just lost Trump’s big case.
What Halligan did is so grievously absurd that she should be disbarred. We are talking never before in history things. But perhaps the Bar decision-makers will be too wimpy to take the wrath of Trump.
Hoot of the Day
The case was dismissed for reasons other than Halligan’s incompetence, namely Pam Bondi’s incompetence.
Also see Hoot of the Day: Trump-Appointed Judge Blocks Texas Gerrymandering
The multiple-irony setup is stunning.
