Judge to hear arguments challenging appointment of prosecutor who
charged James Comey, Letitia James
[November 13, 2025]
By ERIC TUCKER
ALEXANDRIA,
Va. (AP) — Lawyers for two of President Donald Trump's foes who have
been charged by the Justice Department are set to ask a federal judge
Thursday to dismiss the cases against them, saying the prosecutor who
secured the indictments was illegally installed in the role. |
Lindsey Halligan, outside of the White House, Aug. 20, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) |
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The challenges to Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S.
attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia are part of
multi-prong efforts by former FBI Director James Comey and New
York Attorney General Letitia James to get their cases dismissed
before trial.
At issue during Thursday’s arguments are the complex
constitutional and statutory rules governing the appointment of
the nation’s U.S. attorneys, who function as top federal
prosecutors in Justice Department offices across the country.
The role is typically filled by lawyers who have been nominated
by a president and confirmed by the Senate. Attorneys general do
have the authority to get around that process by naming an
interim U.S. attorney who can serve for 120 days, but lawyers
for Comey and James note that once that period expires, the law
gives federal judges of that district exclusive say over who can
fill the vacancy.
But that's not what happened in this instance.
After then-interim U.S. attorney Erik Siebert resigned in
September while facing Trump administration pressure to bring
charges against Comey and James, Attorney General Pam Bondi — at
Trump's public urging — installed Halligan to the role.
Siebert had been appointed by Bondi in January to serve as
interim U.S. attorney. Trump in May announced his intention to
nominate him and judges in the Eastern District unanimously
agreed after his 120-day period expired that he should be
retained in the role. But after the Trump administration
effectively pushed him out in September, the Justice Department
again opted to make an interim appointment in place of the
courts, something defense lawyers say it was not empowered under
the law to do.
Prosecutors in the cases say the law does not explicitly prevent
successive appointments of interim U.S. attorneys by the Justice
Department, and that even if Halligan's appointment is deemed
invalid, the proper fix is not the dismissal of the indictment.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of making a false
statement and obstructing Congress, and James has pleaded not
guilty to mortgage fraud allegations. Their lawyers have
separately argued that the prosecutions are improperly
vindictive and motivated by the president’s personal animus
toward their clients, and should therefore be dismissed.
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