DOJ Stands Firm on Lindsey Halligan's Role Amid Comey and James Case Dismissals
The Justice Department reiterated its support for Attorney General Pam Bondi's selection of Lindsey Halligan, a former personal attorney for Trump, as interim U.S. attorney. This comes in light of an appeal following a judge's dismissal of indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James and ex-FBI Director James Comey.
In a filing submitted Monday, the department contended that U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie erred in dismissing the criminal charges, asserting that Halligan's appointment was lawful.
Currie's November ruling indicated that Halligan's appointment violated a 120-day limit for U.S. prosecutors to serve without Senate confirmation. Halligan was appointed to succeed Erik Siebert, who had not received Senate confirmation within the stipulated timeframe and resigned after declining to pursue charges against Comey and James.
Lawyers representing Comey and James argued that the responsibility for appointing Siebert's successor lay with federal judges in the Eastern District of Virginia, not with Bondi. Currie concurred, leading to her decision that Halligan's involvement in the indictments necessitated their dismissal.
Justice Department attorney Henry Whitaker, in a comprehensive 67-page document, criticized Currie's ruling, claiming it undermined the Attorney General's authority to make appointments. He stated that the decision "mistakenly aggrandizes the district court’s appointment authority at the expense of the Executive Branch’s, which is where the Constitution assigns authority to prosecute crime."
Whitaker dismissed Bondi's incorrect reference to a statute regarding her appointment powers as merely a “paperwork mistake.” He emphasized that even if this mistake constituted a legal error, it did not prejudice the defendants and had been rectified multiple times through Attorney General orders affirming Halligan’s actions.
He further clarified that the issue at hand was not whether Bondi "properly appointed" Halligan but rather if she had been authorized to represent the United States in criminal matters. "The answer is plainly yes," he asserted.
Requests for comments from lawyers representing Comey and James have been made. Both individuals are facing serious allegations—James related to mortgage issues and Comey accused of making false statements and obstructing congressional proceedings. They have both maintained their innocence and entered not guilty pleas.
Whitaker pointed out that it was not Halligan who indicted Comey and James, but rather a grand jury composed of their peers. He argued against invalidating the grand juries’ decisions based on Halligan’s alleged improper appointment, stating there was no substantial reason to believe the outcomes would differ had the appointment issue been resolved.
Despite two attempts by the Justice Department to secure new indictments against James after her case was dismissed, those efforts have reportedly failed. The ongoing cases against Comey and James occur amid President Trump's calls for investigations into his political adversaries. Additionally, the Justice Department is pursuing charges against former national security adviser John Bolton for allegedly mishandling classified materials, which Bolton has denied while pleading not guilty.
