Pivotal Hearing As James Comey And Letitia James Seek To Disqualify Prosecutor

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — When acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan walks into national tribunal present successful Virginia connected Thursday morning, it will beryllium Halligan — not nan criminal defendants she hopes to prosecute — astatine nan halfway of nan court’s attention.

Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both predominant targets of President Donald Trump, revenge abstracted motions successful their respective cases, arguing that Halligan is unlawfully serving arsenic acting U.S. lawyer and truthful the indictments against them should beryllium thrown out. In a uncommon associated hearing, attorneys for Comey and James will reason this together earlier U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie, who is walking up from nan District of South Carolina.

Currie is proceeding this associated oral statement session, not a judge from nan Eastern District of Virginia, to debar immoderate imaginable intradistrict conflict of interest.

Halligan, who was portion of Trump’s ineligible squad successful nan Mar-a-Lago classified documents lawsuit but has nary anterior prosecutorial experience, was sworn successful to nan occupation arsenic interim U.S. lawyer successful 1 of nan nation’s busiest national tribunal districts connected Sept. 22. That’s 3 days aft Erik Siebert, nan U.S. lawyer who had been serving successful nan domiciled since Jan. 21, resigned aft being pressured to indict Comey and James.

The indictments against Comey and James came aft Trump publically urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to return action against Comey, James and different of nan president’s adversaries, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Comey and James some pleaded not blameworthy to their respective charges.

“We can’t hold immoderate longer, it’s sidesplitting our estimation and credibility,” nan president wrote successful a Sept. 20 Truth Social post. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

According to national statute, individuals whitethorn only service for 120 days aft being appointed U.S. attorney, unless confirmed by nan U.S. Senate earlier then. The Senate had not confirmed him, but territory judges of nan Eastern District of Virginia exercised their ain independent assignment authority to legally clasp Siebert arsenic an interim U.S. lawyer beyond nan 120-day limit.

It is that 120-day limit that James and Comey’s attorneys reason should not commencement backmost astatine zero pinch nan assignment of Halligan.

“If nan Attorney General could make back-to-back sequential appointments of interim U.S. Attorneys, nan 120-day play would beryllium rendered meaningless, and nan Attorney General could indefinitely evade nan alternate procedures that Congress mandated,” Comey’s lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald wrote successful a mobility to disregard nan indictment against his client.

Comey was charged successful precocious September pinch making a mendacious connection to Congress during a September 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Asked by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, astir testimony he gave successful 2017 asserting that he did not authorize nan leak of accusation to nan media astir an FBI investigation into nan Clinton Foundation, Comey said, “I guidelines by nan testimony.”

Trump first fought pinch Comey during his first word complete nan then-FBI director's handling of nan national investigation Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia. Comey was fired successful May 2017 and has been an outspoken professional of Trump since then.

The Justice Department laid retired successful tribunal papers that it believes nan indictment of Comey — signed only by Halligan and unsealed days earlier nan five-year statute of limitations expired — should past this situation to Halligan’s assignment sloppy of what Currie decides, because of U.S. Code 3288, nan statute that governs this very issue.

“Whenever an indictment aliases accusation charging a felony is dismissed for immoderate logic aft nan play prescribed by nan applicable statute of limitations has expired, a caller indictment whitethorn beryllium returned successful nan due jurisdiction wrong six almanac months of nan day of nan dismissal of nan indictment aliases information,” nan statute sounds successful part.

This six-month grace period, ineligible experts show NBC News, whitethorn beryllium nan DOJ’s cardinal to a continued prosecution of nan erstwhile FBI director. The slope fraud complaint that James, who sued Trump and his businesses for fraud successful 2022, is facing is good wrong nan 10-year statute of limitations.

Bondi has taken steps successful caller weeks to statement up Halligan’s position.

On Oct. 31, Bondi issued a general bid retroactively appointing Halligan to nan position of “special attorney” wrong nan Department of Justice arsenic of Sept. 22 — 3 days earlier Comey was indicted — and wrote, “Should a tribunal reason that Ms. Halligan’s authority arsenic Special Attorney is constricted to peculiar matters, I hereby delegate to Ms. Halligan authority arsenic Special Attorney to behaviour and supervise nan prosecutions” of Comey and James.”

Halligan is besides facing respective Bar Association complaints successful Florida and Virginia, revenge by nan left-leaning watchdog group Campaign for Accountability.

“Ms. Halligan’s actions look to represent an maltreatment of powerfulness and service to undermine nan integrity of nan Department of Justice (DOJ) and erode nationalist assurance successful nan ineligible occupation and nan adjacent management of justice,” nan title says.

Several different U.S. attorneys appointed by Trump are besides facing ineligible challenges to their appointments.

In precocious September, a national judge successful Nevada ruled that acting U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah should beryllium disqualified from serving successful that domiciled owed to violating nan Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

In August, a national judge successful New Jersey ruled that Alina Habba was “not lawfully holding nan agency of United States Attorney” owed to nan 120-day interim assignment expiration, and that her actions since July arsenic nan apical national charismatic successful New Jersey may beryllium declared void.