Attorneys for two prominent critics of President Donald Trump — former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James — urged a federal judge Thursday to throw out the criminal cases against them, arguing that the Justice Department’s top prosecutor in the matter was unlawfully appointed.
According to The Associated Press, during a hearing in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie heard arguments on whether Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was valid. Currie said she expects to issue a decision by Thanksgiving.
The challenges form part of broader legal efforts by Comey and James to have their indictments dismissed before the cases reach trial.
At the center of the dispute are the constitutional and statutory limits on appointing U.S. attorneys — senior federal prosecutors who typically require presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. While the attorney general may appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days, defense lawyers argue that once that period ends, federal judges in that district have the sole authority to fill the vacancy.
That process, they say, was ignored.
After then–interim U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned in September under what defense lawyers describe as pressure from the Trump administration to pursue charges against Comey and James, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Halligan as his replacement.
Siebert had been installed by Bondi in January and later nominated by Trump to remain in the position. When his 120-day term expired, federal judges in the Eastern District unanimously agreed he should continue to serve. But when Siebert stepped down months later, the Justice Department again made an interim appointment without court approval — an action Comey’s and James’s lawyers say exceeded its legal authority.
Prosecutors counter that the law does not expressly forbid back-to-back interim appointments and that even if Halligan’s appointment is deemed invalid, that alone would not justify dismissing the indictments.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and obstructing Congress, while James has pleaded not guilty to mortgage fraud. Their attorneys have separately argued that both prosecutions were politically driven and represent retaliation encouraged by President Trump himself.
Judge Currie said she would weigh the complex constitutional questions before issuing a ruling later this month.
