{"id":2514047,"date":"2025-11-24T14:18:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T19:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-since-trump-appointed-her\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T14:18:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T19:18:24","slug":"judge-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-since-trump-appointed-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-since-trump-appointed-her\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge: Halligan Can&#8217;t Prosecute Comey Since Trump Appointed Her"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-since-trump-appointed-her%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2514047&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge, Cameron Currie, dismissed the grand jury indictments against former FBI Director James Comey adn New york Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the interim U.S. Attorney who brought the charges, Lindsay Halligan, was unlawfully appointed. Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi after the previous U.S. Attorney, Erik Siebert, resigned reportedly as he refused to prosecute Comey and James. Judge Currie ruled that under federal law, the Attorney General&#8217;s authority to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney is limited to 120 days, after which only a district court may make an appointment. Since Halligan&#8217;s appointment exceeded that period without court approval, her actions, including securing the indictments, were invalid. Consequently, the indictments against Comey, charged with making false statements to Congress and obstruction, and James, accused in a mortgage fraud scheme, were dismissed without prejudice.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KRs-KSczhOA\">the late show with stephen colbert\/Youtube<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=O1twELVSET0\">cbs new york\/youtube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/24\/judge-says-us-attorney-lindsey-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-because-trump-appointed-her\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Judge%20Says%20US%20Attorney%20Lindsey%20Halligan%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Prosecute%20Comey%20Because%20Trump%20Appointed%20Her&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/24\/judge-says-us-attorney-lindsey-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-because-trump-appointed-her\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Judge%20Says%20US%20Attorney%20Lindsey%20Halligan%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Prosecute%20Comey%20Because%20Trump%20Appointed%20Her&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/24\/judge-says-us-attorney-lindsey-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-because-trump-appointed-her\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/24\/judge-says-us-attorney-lindsey-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-because-trump-appointed-her\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Judge%20Says%20US%20Attorney%20Lindsey%20Halligan%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Prosecute%20Comey%20Because%20Trump%20Appointed%20Her&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/24\/judge-says-us-attorney-lindsey-halligan-cant-prosecute-comey-because-trump-appointed-her\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>An unelected, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >inferior-court activist judge tossed<\/a> the grand jury indictment against disgraced former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, arguing that federal prosecutor Lindsay Halligan was unlawfully appointed.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Cameron Currie, a Clinton appointee, <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.vaed.582136\/gov.uscourts.vaed.582136.213.0_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> Monday that Halligan was unlawfully appointed and that the indictments against both Comey and James are invalid.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-853890567\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;On September 25, 2025, Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, appeared before a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-man-charged-with-threatening-to-murder-2-us-congressmen\/\" title=\"Missouri Man Charged With Threatening to Murder 2 US Congressmen\">federal grand jury<\/a> in the Eastern District of Virginia. Having been appointed Interim U.S. Attorney by the Attorney General just days before, Ms. Halligan secured a two-count indictment charging former FBI Director James B. Comey, Jr. with<br \/>making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding,&rdquo; Currie wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Currie then stated, &ldquo;I agree with Mr. Comey that the Attorney General&rsquo;s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid. And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey&rsquo;s motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Halligan was appointed to the role in September after Erik Siebert stepped down, <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/us-attorney-plans-resign-amid-pressure-trump-after\/story?id=125750006\">reportedly<\/a> after refusing to seek indictments against Comey and James. Attorney General Pam Bondi then authorized Halligan as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Upon assuming her role, Halligan secured a two<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/attorneys-claim-government-manufacturing-evidence-to-charge-incarcerate-jan-6-prisoners\/\" title=\"...s Claim Government Manufacturing Evidence to Charge, Incarcerate Jan. 6 Prisoners\">-count grand jury indictment<\/a> against Comey for charges of making false statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.<\/p>\n<p>Comey challenged, amongst other things, Halligan&rsquo;s appointment as unlawful. <\/p>\n<p>The government argued, however, that unless the Senate explicitly refused to confirm Halligan, then Bondi was within her authority to appoint Halligan as lawful interim attorney.<\/p>\n<p>Comey&rsquo;s team, however, argued that Section 546 &ldquo;limits the total tenure of the Attorney General&rsquo;s interim appointments to 120 days&rdquo; and therefore &ldquo;precludes an additional appointment by the Attorney General after the expiration of that 120-day period.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Comey&rsquo;s team argued, therefore, that Halligan&rsquo;s appointment was unlawful because the district court had the &ldquo;exclusive authority to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney&rdquo; once Seibert resigned.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Mr. Comey has the better reading of the statute,&rdquo; Currie wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Currie then cited Section 546 and said that subsection (d) provides &ldquo;a single option for how subsequent interim appointments may be made: &lsquo;If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district&rsquo; &mdash; and only the district court &mdash; &lsquo;may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Currie ruled that Halligan, therefore, &ldquo;has been unlawfully serving in that role since September 22, 2025.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan&rsquo;s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey&rsquo;s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside,&rdquo; Currie ruled. Currie <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mrddmia\/status\/1993025823268651228?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also dismissed<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kyledcheney\/status\/1993012396865290403?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">James&rsquo; indictment<\/a> with a similar order.<\/p>\n<p>James was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/21\/documents-letitia-james-lied-to-bank-insurer-in-alleged-mortgage-fraud-scheme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indicted<\/a> in October for allegedly lying to her lending bank and a homeowner&rsquo;s insurance company in a mortgage fraud scheme.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/eastern-district-of-virginia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Eastern District of Virginia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/erik-siebert\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Erik Siebert<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/false-statements\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">False Statements<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/fbi\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">FBI<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/grand-jury\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Grand Jury<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/indictment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Indictment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/james-comey\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">James Comey<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judge-cameron-currie\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Judge Cameron Currie<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judicial-coup\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">judicial coup<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lawfare\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lawfare<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/letitia-james\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Letitia James<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lindsey-halligan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Lindsey Halligan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mortgage-fraud\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">mortgage fraud<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/obstruction\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Obstruction<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge tosses Comey and James indictments over appointment issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2514048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Untitled-2025-11-24T125334.840.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[64085,67609,32691,60973],"class_list":["post-2514047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-comey-case","tag-halligan-prosecution","tag-judge-ruling","tag-trump-appointment"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Untitled-2025-11-24T125334.840.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2514047"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2514051,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514047\/revisions\/2514051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2514048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2514047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2514047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2514047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}