Judge dismisses cases against James Comey and Letitia James after finding prosecutor was unlawfully appointed

Lindsey Halligan was appointed after President Donald Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute the former FBI director and the New York attorney general.

A federal judge dismissed the criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, finding the prosecutor who brought the cases, former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, was not lawfully appointed.

U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said she agreed with Comey, who moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that Halligan's appointment was illegal.

"Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment," Currie wrote in finding that Halligan lacked the authority to present a case to a grand jury.

"All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside," the judge wrote, describing the insurance lawyer as "a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience."

She issued a separate, similar ruling dismissing the James case.