James Comey, Letitia James Indictments Tossed Because Trump’s Insurance Lawyer Wasn’t Legally Appointed To The DOJ

The DOJ continues to shed talent as those who actually care about doing the job right are either quitting or being fired for refusing to be Trump’s vindictive blunt force objects.

The problem with shedding this much talent is that you need to replace it with someone capable of fogging a mirror while also being a MAGA loyalist. When attrition outpaces the appointment process, things get sloppy. They also get illegal, which is something Trump and his administration are being reminded of constantly as they pitch competent people overboard and hastily replace them with people Trump likes… or at least has heard of.

Lindsey Halligan — best known for being Trump’s insurance law specialist before being gifted with an entirely unearned US Attorney position — is now making a play for being the worst Lindsey in Trump’s orbit. (Lindsey Graham has his work cut out for him.)

The DOJ continues to exit grand juries with ham sandwiches deemed unfit for judicial consumption. Halligan beat the odds by managing to secure an extremely questionable indictment of the FBI director Trump fired nearly five years ago for not being loyal enough, as well as some risible bullshit about alleged mortgage fraud supposedly committed by New York district attorney Letitia James, who has angered Trump on multiple occasions for refusing to expose her underside every time Trump starts barking incoherently.

There are multiple problems with both cases, but especially with the Comey indictment, which has already been botched repeatedly by insurance lawyer Lindsey Halligan. While we have discussed some of that, those discussions may not ultimately matter. The most recent ruling handed down by a judge overseeing the judicial district in which Halligan is repeatedly fucking things up says we don’t even need to discuss the merits of the criminal cases being brought by Trump’s vindictive DOJ.

The only thing we need to discuss is whether or not Halligan actually has the legal power to serve as a DOJ prosecutor. As Chris Geidner points out on Bluesky, the answer is “no.” And that goes for both cases.

Here’s the operative phrase from the ruling on the Comey indictment:

As explained below, I agree with Mr. Comey that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid. And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice.

History rhymes, even when it’s being made on the same day. Here’s the point that ultimately matters in the Letitia James prosecution:

As explained below, I agree with Ms. James that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid. And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Ms. James’s motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice.

The problem with both cases is Lindsey Halligan. The law does give the executive branch an opportunity to generate a steady stream of nominees for open positions. But if the Senate doesn’t actually approve a replacement within 120 days, the approval process is turned over to the district courts, who can place their own nominees into vacant positions. The clock doesn’t reset just because Trump decided the best way to handle this was to jump from nominee to nominee for months in a row. The 120-day clock begins with the first appointee. And if that person isn’t confirmed by the Senate, the courts get their chance to fill the void.

None of that happened here. Trump kept bypassing the legal process, shoving successive loyalists into this vacancy in hopes of staying a step ahead of this eventual failure. It’s now caught up with the administration, which now sees (for the time being) two of its most high-profile revenge efforts kicked to the curb by the district court.

Obviously, the administration will be asking both the appellate court and the Supreme Court (if needed) to pretend the only thing that matters is that Trump gets what he wants, no matter what actions he takes to achieve these goals.

Also, the dismissals are both “without prejudice,” which means the DOJ can get back to Trump’s dirty revenge business at any point in the future if it can manage to get one of its loyalists approved for public sector employment.

But the clock continues to run. While Trump may have another three years of Oval Office occupation ahead of him, the 2020 testimony the DOJ claims was filled with legally actionable lies by James Comey is on the cusp of its expiration date. The statute of limitations has a pretty good chance of tolling before Trump can resume his vindictive prosecution of the former FBI director.

If the administration is smart, it will understand its Hail Mary prosecutions of Trump’s political enemies have been batted down in the end zone by the system of checks and balances. But it isn’t, so it’s safe to assume efforts even more stupid and incompetent than those currently being mismanaged into the judicial graveyard by AUSA Bratz doll Lindsey Halligan will continue as long as Trump or any successive member of this MAGA-cooked version of the GOP still hold power.