From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
In blow to Trump, US judge tosses cases against ex-FBI chief Comey, New York AG James
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WASHINGTON – A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against two adversaries of President Donald Trump, FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling the US attorney he hand-picked to prosecute them was unlawfully appointed.
The ruling throws out two cases Trump had publicly called for as he pressured Justice Department leaders to move against high-profile figures who had criticized him and led investigations into his conduct.
Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to Trump, was named interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September to take over both investigations despite having no previous prosecutorial experience.
The findings by US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie came after both Comey and James accused the Trump Justice Department of violating the US Constitution’s Appointments Clause and federal law by appointing Halligan in September.
Currie found that Halligan “had no legal authority” to bring indictments against either Comey or James. But Currie dismissed the cases “without prejudice,” giving the Justice Department an opportunity to seek new indictments with a different prosecutor at the helm.
“All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment,” Currie wrote, were “unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.”
After the decision, Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters the Justice Department would “be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal to hold Letitia James and James Comey accountable for their unlawful conduct.”
Bondi said that because Halligan was made a special US attorney, she can continue to prosecute cases. “She can fight in court just like she was and we believe we will be successful on appeal,” Bondi said.
James and Comey separately said they were grateful for the ruling. James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, said she would “continue to challenge any further politically motivated charges through every lawful means available.”
In an Instagram video, Comey said the case against him “was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump.”
Both Comey and James have been longtime targets of Trump’s ire. Comey as FBI director oversaw an investigation into alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 election campaign and the Russian government and later called Trump unfit for office.
The Times of Israel Community.