A federal judge dismissed the indictments against James Comey and Letitia James on Monday, deeming them unjust due to their initiation by unqualified U.S. attorneys.
Judge Cameron Curry tossed out the false statement charge against Comey and the bank fraud charge against James, which raises some questions about the potential for future charges.
The Department of Justice has the option to appeal this ruling.
This decision comes after a recent hearing in Virginia where concerns were raised about Lindsay Harrigan’s ability to prosecute as interim U.S. attorney.
Judge Curry, appointed by President Clinton in South Carolina, was brought in to address the authority issue surrounding Harrigan’s position, leading to a conflict for the Virginia judge. Both Comey and James objected to Harrigan’s appointment on similar grounds.
Harrigan filed the indictment independently before a grand jury shortly after former interim U.S. Attorney Eric Siebert was dismissed. At the time, Harrigan had no prior prosecutorial experience, yet was the sole attorney to present a case to a grand jury and sign an indictment, while Virginia prosecutors were not involved.
Since then, the Justice Department has backed Harrigan completely. Attorney General Pam Bondi endorsed the indictment and made attempts to reaffirm it later, but Curry indicated that such actions shouldn’t have been necessary if Harrigan had been a proper appointee.
During the hearing, Justice Department attorney Henry Whitaker claimed that Comey and James’ motion to dismiss the case included “at best a clerical error.”
Abby Lowell, representing James, stated that Harrigan was “a private person” when entering the grand jury room and hadn’t been authorized to be there.
This is breaking news. Please check for updates.
