What some have described as President Donald Trump‘s vengeful plot to take down New York Attorney General Letitia James just backfired after a federal judge dismissed the case against her without prejudice. And to make matters worse, the decision came down to the Trump-appointed prosecutor, who experts say doomed the case from the start.
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We previously told you the lead prosecutor in the case, Lindsey Halligan, is a close Trump ally and former pageant queen. Although she’s a practicing lawyer, her expertise mostly concerns insurance litigation. She has no previous prosecutorial experience, according to reports. So when Trump tapped her to bring forth criminal cases against James and former FBI Director James Comey— another Trump adversary— it’s safe to say many were confused.
James was indicted in October, only weeks after Comey’s indictment for obstruction and allegedly making a false statement to Congress. Both James and Comey denied the allegations against them, pointing to Trump’s history of targeting his political opponents as the reason for the cases. Most importantly, the two defendants took issue with Halligan’s appointment in the first place, and a judge just sided with them.
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled to dismiss both cases without prejudice on Monday (Nov. 24), finding Halligan was not lawfully appointed, NBC reported. “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.
In September, the president appointed Halligan as temporary U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Insiders said Halligan’s new position came about simply because of her proximity to Trump. According to Judge Currie, that was completely unconstitutional, which means all acts following her appointment are deemed invalid.
The judge added in the ruling, “All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside.” Currie wrote, “There is simply no alternative course to cure the unconstitutional problem.”
So, the case against James is gone, for now, but if prosecutors get it together, they can bring forth another indictment against the AG. James sued Trump in 2022 for fraud, and the court ordered Trump to pay out nearly $400 million to the state after he was found guilty. The ruling was later reversed, The Hill reported.
James responded to the dismissal, saying, “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country.” She continued, “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
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