Welp.
The judge said that Trump violated the Appointment Clause of the Constitution with the appointment of interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who brought charges against both Comey and James.
'The Attorney General's attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid,' Judge Cameron McGowan Currie wrote in her Monday order.
According to Currie, 'all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment' including the indictments against Comey and James 'were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.'
The judge tossed out the cases 'without prejudice,' leaving open the possibility that the cases against Comey and James can be brought again alleging the same conduct.
I'll give you this straight from the horse's mouth, cuz it's more clear that way.
On January 20, 2025, Jessica Aber, who had been nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate, resigned from her position as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. The following day, the Attorney General appointed Erik Siebert as Interim U.S. Attorney under 28 U.S.C. § 546.4. Mr. Siebert's 120-day interim appointment was set to expire on May 21, 2025. So, on May 9, 2025, the judges of the district exercised their authority under section546(d) to appoint Mr. Siebert to continue in his role, effective May 21.
On September 19, 2025, Mr. Siebert informed colleagues of his resignation. According to news reports, Mr. Siebert had recently expressed concerns to senior Department of Justiceofficials about the viability of pursuing charges against Ms. James and former FBI Director JamesComey.7 Mr. Siebert's resignation came hours after President Trump told reporters at the WhiteHouse he 'want[ed] [Mr. Siebert] out.'
And:
So Comey and James are sort of off the hook for now, but they're not out of the woods quite yet.
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