Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
A US federal judge has thrown out the indictments against James Comey and Letitia James, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to punish his perceived enemies using the Department of Justice.
The court ruled that prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally who brought the criminal cases, was unlawfully appointed and dismissed the charges against Comey and James.
Federal judge Cameron McGowan Currie wrote the “attorney-general’s attempt to install Ms Halligan . . . was invalid”, adding that in her role as interim US attorney Halligan “had no lawful authority to present” the indictments against the defendants.
The dismissals show how the judiciary is willing to push back against Trump’s unprecedented effort to use the DoJ to deliver on his pledge of retribution against his perceived opponents. The DoJ has previously rejected accusations of political interference.
Trump fired Comey as head of the FBI in 2017 when he was overseeing an investigation into contacts between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials.
James came into the president’s crosshairs in 2022 after she brought a landmark civil fraud case against him, the Trump Organization and his three adult children that led to a roughly $500mn penalty.
James on Monday said she was “heartened by today’s victory” and “remain[ed] fearless in the face of these baseless charges”.
Comey in a video message said he was “grateful” for the dismissal of “a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking”.
A “message has to be sent that the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies”, Comey added.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said that the Department of Justice would appeal against the ruling.
“We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsey Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position, but she was in fact legally appointed, and I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order, so maybe James Comey should pump the brakes on his victory lap,” Leavitt said.
PLAY | 02:07
The justice department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The indictments against James and Comey came after the president urged US attorney-general Pam Bondi to take action against the pair. Critics said the move undermined the DoJ’s independence and shattered norms that were established after Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal in the 1970s.
The appointment of Halligan, Trump’s former personal lawyer, came after her predecessor reportedly refused to bring cases against James and Comey. Halligan was the sole prosecutor to sign both indictments — an unusual move, especially for such high-profile filings.
Earlier this month, Ephraim McDowell, a lawyer representing Comey, argued Halligan’s appointment was an attempt to “end run” norms requiring the US Senate to confirm a president’s nominee for US attorney.
DoJ lawyer Henry Charles Whitaker rejected these accusations as “fanciful”, describing the question of Halligan’s appointment as “at best a paperwork error”.
Interim US attorneys may serve for 120 days, after which they must be confirmed by a federal court or the Senate. Halligan replaced interim US attorney Erik Siebert, who served in the role since January 21 2025.
The judge added all “actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing [James’s and Comey’s indictments], constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside”.
Currie has dismissed the cases without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can potentially refile charges.
Recommended
James faced two criminal counts, including bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, stemming from a loan application. Comey was charged with obstructing and lying to Congress in relation to his testimony to a Senate committee in 2020. Each pleaded not guilty.
A New York court overturned the penalty in the 2022 civil fraud case brought by James for being excessive but did not throw out the lower court’s 2024 verdict that found Trump and others liable for civil fraud.
The DoJ last month indicted a third Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, who pleaded not guilty to charges of mishandling classified documents. Charges against Bolton were not brought by Halligan.
