Judge dismisses case against ex-FBI chief James Comey, rebuking Trump prosecutor

However, it turned out that the five-year statute of limitations in the Comey case may have now expired. He was indicted on charges of making false statements to the US Congress during a hearing in September 2020.

‘There was a judge who was clearly trying to protect Leitia James and James Comey from accountability.’

Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration would appeal the decision and Comey should “put the brakes on his victory lap.”

“Our opinion is that Lindsey Halligan is extremely qualified for this position, but more importantly, she is lawfully appointed,” he told reporters at the White House.

“There was a judge who was clearly trying to protect Leitia James and James Comey from accountability, and that’s why they took this unprecedented action to throw out the charges against these two individuals.”

Comey stated that the case filed against him was based on bad faith and incompetence, and that he expected Trump to come after him again. He praised Justice Department lawyers who initially resisted pursuing the case.

“A message must be sent that the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies,” Comey said in the video he shared on Instagram.

“I don’t care what your politics are; you should view this as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps us all free.”

‘Fundamental mistakes’

Halligan, who had no prosecutorial experience and was handling his first case, was also sentenced to impeachment by a magistrate judge on the grounds that he made “fundamental misrepresentations regarding the law” when receiving the indictment from the grand jury in the Comey case.

Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint Halligan after his predecessor, Erik Siebert, dismissed charges against Comey or James due to a lack of credible evidence in both cases.

Shortly after his appointment, Halligan filed a solo indictment against Comey and James after other career prosecutors in the office refused to participate.

Both pleaded not guilty. James was charged with bank fraud and lying to a financial institution.

Siebert was appointed on an interim basis following the resignation of the prosecutor appointed by Joe Biden. Siebert was never confirmed by the Senate and served under regulations provided by district judges. However, the court ruled that this meant Bondi effectively used the only opportunity he had to appoint an interim attorney.

Justice Department lawyers argued that the law allows the attorney general to make multiple temporary appointments for U.S. attorneys. Still, Bondi attempted to bolster the cases by issuing a retroactive order appointing Halligan as “special counsel” for both cases.

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Bondi’s order was issued on October 31 and dated September 22, three days before Comey was indicted.

Currie found this was not valid. “The government has identified no authority that would allow the Attorney General to go back in time and rewrite the terms of a past appointment,” he wrote.

“Regardless of what the Attorney General ‘intended’ or ‘could’ have done, the fact remains that Ms. Halligan was not a ‘lawfully authorized attorney’ to conduct grand jury proceedings in preparing Mr. Comey’s indictment.”

The challenge to Halligan’s appointment was one of several efforts by Comey and James’ lawyers to have the lawsuits against them dismissed. Both argued that the lawsuits were “vindictive” cases stemming from Trump’s hostility.

AP via Reuters

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