The Trump administration is planning its next move after the dismissal of criminal cases against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James.
A US federal judge ruled on Monday that the prosecutor who brought the charges had been illegally appointed.
Donald Trump had urged the prosecution of the pair, but the rulings from US district judge Cameron McGowan Currie have, for now, halted proceedings against the pair, who have been publicly attacked by the US president.
Mr Comey was appointed FBI director in 2013 by President Barack Obama, and at the time of Trump’s 2016 election was overseeing an investigation into whether the Republican’s presidential campaign had conspired with Russia. He was fired by Trump in May 2017.
Ms James won against Trump and the Trump Organization in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings.
The judge’s dismissal of the cases against Mr Comey and Ms James amounts to a rebuke of the Trump administration’s legal manoeuvring to install an inexperienced and loyalist prosecutor willing to prosecute the pair.
Lindsey Halligan was appointed as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia by the administration. Defence lawyers, however, had argued that it had no legal authority to do so.
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“All actions flowing from Ms Halligan’s defective appointment were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside,” wrote Ms Currie.
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A White House spokeswoman said the rulings would “not be the final word on the matter”, while attorney general Pam Bondi vowed the justice department would pursue an “immediate appeal”.
The rulings do not concern the substance of the allegations against Mr Comey and Ms James, and prosecutors may also try to refile the charges, a possibility left open by the judge’s orders.
How James Comey and Letitia James reacted
“I am grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the justice department has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking,” said Mr Comey, who had pleaded not guilty to charges of making a false statement and obstructing Congress, in a statement.
Ms James, a Democrat who had pleaded not guilty to mortgage fraud allegations, said: “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country.”
She added that she remained “fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day”.
At issue in Ms Currie’s rulings is the mechanism the Trump administration employed to appoint Ms Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, to lead one of the justice department’s most elite and important offices.
Ms Halligan was named as a replacement for Erik Siebert, a veteran prosecutor in the office and interim US attorney who resigned in September amid Trump administration pressure to file charges against both Mr Comey and Ms James.
He stepped aside after Mr Trump, who has long promised retribution against his political opponents, told reporters he wanted Siebert “out.”
The following night, Mr Trump said he would be nominating Ms Halligan to the role of interim US attorney. He publicly implored Ms Bondi to take action against Mr Comey and Ms James, saying in a Truth Social post: “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”
Mr Trump added: “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Mr Comey was indicted three days after Ms Halligan was sworn in by Ms Bondi, and Ms James was charged two weeks after that.
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Attorneys general have the authority to name an interim US attorney who can serve for 120 days.
However, lawyers for Mr Comey and Ms James argued that once that period expires, as it did in Mr Siebert’s case, the law gives federal judges in the district the exclusive authority to appoint a prosecutor to serve until the vacancy is filled.
“The 120-day clock began running with Mr Siebert’s appointment on January 21, 2025,” Ms Currie wrote. “When that clock expired on May 21, 2025, so too did the Attorney General’s appointment authority.”
