Fourth Circuit Weighs Bid to Revive Cases Against Comey and James

The Justice Department is asking the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. A federal judge dismissed the cases after ruling that Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump aide and personal lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, was unlawfully appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. The central legal question is whether federal law permitted Bondi to make a successive temporary appointment after the prior U.S. attorney’s 120-day term, and whether Halligan’s indictments should therefore be invalidated. DOJ argues the appointment was lawful and the indictments should be reinstated, while lawyers for Comey and James say actions taken by an improperly appointed prosecutor are void. The cases have drawn broader scrutiny over President Trump’s influence on federal law enforcement and the use of temporary appointments in politically sensitive prosecutions.