A federal judge dismissed the indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, ruling in a pair of nearly identical opinions that the prosecutor who brought both cases, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, was never lawfully appointed.
As reported on Tuesday’s AM Update, Halligan was put in her position by Attorney General Pam Bondi in September after her predecessor, Erik Siebert, resigned. Siebert originally nabbed the role thanks to an appointment by the AG’s office, but the temporary appointment was only good for 120 days. When that period ended, Siebert was reappointed by federal judges.
The controlling statute says that’s fine – but is it required? That is the central question in this case. Comey’s legal team argued that when Siebert resigned, his interim successor could be chosen only by federal judges. The DOJ maintained that either judges or the Attorney General’s office could do it.
Last month, both Comey and James separately moved to dismiss the cases, arguing AG Bondi did not have the power to appoint Halligan to this post, and Clinton-appointed U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie sided with Comey and James. She found Halligan’s appointment to be invalid and, therefore, “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment… constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside.”
Judge Curry dismissed both cases without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can try again. But with Comey’s allegedly false statements to Congress now beyond the statute of limitations, it remains to be seen whether his case – unlike James’ – can still be refiled.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by MK True Crime contributor Dave Aronberg and Article III Project founder Mike Davis to discuss the judge’s decision and what comes next for the cases against Comey and James:
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Aronberg and Davis by tuning in to episode 1,201 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.