ABC’s David Muir broke into his nightly newscast with updates on two Trump-backed prosecutions against James Comey and Letitia James, which collapsed in court that day
During the November 24 episode of World News Tonight, David Muir paused the evening newscast to deliver a significant legal update involving former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Muir, who referred to the two officials as “two of Trump’s biggest political foes,” told viewers that both indictments brought against them had been “tossed out.” He then turned the segment over to Chief Justice Correspondent Peter Thomas, who explained that the prosecutor behind the cases, former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, had never been lawfully appointed.
U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie agreed with Comey’s argument that Halligan’s appointment by Trump was illegal. “Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment,” Currie wrote in the latest updates.
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She added that “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside,” describing Halligan as “a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience.” Currie issued a similar ruling dismissing the case against James.
“This case presents the unique, if not unprecedented, situation where an unconstitutionally appointed prosecutor, ‘exercising power [she] did not lawfully possess,’… acted alone in conducting a grand jury proceeding and securing an indictment,” the ruling said.
Because Halligan was the only prosecutor to sign and present both cases to the grand jury, the indictments were deemed void.
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The White House pushed back almost immediately as Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “Lindsey Halligan was legally appointed, and that’s the administration’s position.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department intended to appeal, adding that Halligan had been made a special U.S. attorney to handle the cases. “I talk to all of our U.S. attorneys, the majority of them around the country, and Lindsey Halligan is an excellent U.S. attorney. And shame on them for not wanting her in office,” Bondi said.
Comey, in a video posted to Instagram, celebrated the dismissal.
“I’m grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking,” he said.
He added that the ruling sends a message that “the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies.” Comey said he expected further retaliation, saying, “I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again, and my attitude is going to be the same. I’m innocent. I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary, the gift from our founders that protects us from a would-be tyrant.”
Bondi, responding to Comey’s comments, said she was “not worried about someone who has been charged with a very serious crime,” calling his alleged conduct “a betrayal of public trust.”
James also wrote, “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country. I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the decision “acknowledges what’s been clear about this case from the beginning. The President went to extreme measures to substitute one of his allies to bring these baseless charges after career prosecutors refused.” Lowell added, “We will continue to challenge any further politically motivated charges through every lawful means available.”
Although both indictments were dismissed “without prejudice,” Comey’s attorney Patrick Fitzgerald argued that the ruling makes a refile impossible. He said the statute of limitations had already expired and that Halligan’s void appointment means “the indictment is void, the statute of limitations has run and there can be no further indictment.”
The Justice Department countered in court filings that U.S. Code 3288 could allow a refile within six months, though Comey’s lawyers say the grace period doesn’t apply because Halligan lacked authority from the start, which was an assessment the judge supported.
Legal expert Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law said, “I think the government will do whatever it can to overturn this, but I don’t see how that’s going to happen.”
Halligan’s role as the sole prosecutor, combined with questions about her interim appointment, has raised complications in other cases as well, including challenges filed by Kabul airport bombing suspect Mohammad Sharifullah.
Halligan’s appointment had been viewed as problematic since Trump announced it, one day after forcing out Erik Siebert, who had resisted pressure to prosecute Comey and James. Federal statute limits interim U.S. attorneys to 120 days unless confirmed by the Senate, and Siebert had been extended by local judges. Lawyers for Comey and James argued that those judges, and not Attorney General Pam Bondi, were responsible for appointing any replacement, an issue the Justice Department disputed.
In a Truth Social post aimed at Bondi, Trump wrote, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” while praising Halligan as “a really good lawyer.” Within days, Halligan presented the Comey case to a grand jury, shortly before the five-year statute of limitations expired.
Currie, brought in from South Carolina due to local judges’ involvement in selecting Halligan’s replacement, expressed skepticism toward the Justice Department’s defense at a joint hearing. Prosecutors called the concerns a “paperwork error,” while Comey’s attorneys described the issue as a “fatal flaw.”
Both Comey and James had pleaded not guilty to accusations levied by Trump of lying to Congress in 2020. Their separate claims of “selective and vindictive” prosecution remain pending.
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